KUCHING, Sept 24 ― Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) today said it will remain independent and will not join any alliance or coalition as speculations grow over Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s claim to have the majority in parliament to be the next prime minister.
The party secretariat said in a statement that PSB has been consistent and steadfast in its stand to support the parties that won the people’s mandate in the 14th general election (GE14).
“The rakyat gave the mandate to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance and we must respect the wishes of the people until the next general election.
“PSB will not hop here and there. It must be emphasised that PSB will remain independent and will not join any alliance or coalition,” the statement said.
PSB has two Members of Parliament (MP).
In a press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Anwar claimed to have a secured a “strong, formidable majority” to form the next government, adding that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s government had fallen.
However, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat president and leader of Pakatan Harapan (PH) refused to reveal just how many of the Dewan Rakyat’s 222 members are now with him or from which party they are from, pending an audience with the Yang-di Pertuan Agong.
Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional, a loose coalition comprising GPS and other parties, is currently hanging by a thread in parliament with reportedly 113 out of 222 seats.
PH, which includes Parti Amanah Negara and Democratic Action Party, currently has 91 MPs.
Anwar’s refusal to announce the parliamentarians who are purportedly backing him has led to plenty of speculations as to who they could be.
So far, only Amanah president Mohamad Sabu has confirmed that all his 11 MPs would support Anwar, whereas Democratic Action Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng indicated that his party was unaware that Anwar would be making the announcement.
Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, however, had claimed that he had received information that many Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs have stated their support for Anwar. BN has 43 MPs, 39 of them from Umno.
In Sarawak, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, which has 18 of the 31 parliamentary seats in the state, have maintained their support for Muhyiddin. ― Borneo Post
