KUCHING, Nov 4 — Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh clarified today that the seating arrangement for him and three state lawmakers in the Sarawak State Assembly does not mean that the party is still part of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government.
He said they are no longer part of the GPS government after he resigned as the state second finance minister and international trade and e-commerce last August.
“The seating arrangement for us to sit together with the GPS state assemblymen gives the impression we are still part of the state government, but we are not,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Sarawak State Assembly’s sitting.
Wong, who used to sit on the frontline with the state ministers, is now seated next to the Deputy Speaker Datuk Gerawat Gala on the same row, while his three PSB colleagues — Johnical Rayong (Engkilili), Datuk Ranum Mina (Opar) and Datuk Tiong Thai King (Pelawan) — have remained in the same seats as before.
He said the seating arrangement is the prerogative of Speaker Datuk Asfia Awang Nasar, adding that it cannot be questioned.
“Whether or not we are comfortable with the arrangement is not an issue.
“We just want to clarify that PSB is an independent party, not affiliated to GPS,” Wong, who is also a former Speaker, said.
Wong resigned from his ministerial post in the government after his party was deprived of representatives in government-linked companies, local authorities and political secretaries.
He had also said PSB state lawmakers were each deprived of an annual allocation of RM8 million that they used to receive.
