KUCHING, April 3 — DAP’s state committee will meet on Tuesday in Sibu to discuss the possibility of working with other Opposition parties in Sarawak for the 15th general election (GE15), its chairman Chong Chieng Jen said today.
He said the results of last December’s state election showed that the major Opposition parties must band together to take on the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the national polls.
“No doubt, regionalism sentiment was strong in the state election. However, the results also showed that purely fighting on regional politics will not get a party anywhere,” Chong, who is also the Padungan assemblyman, said in a statement.
He said Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) contested 70 seats but won only four, while DAP won only two seats out of the 26 contested.
He added that most candidates fielded by other local Opposition parties lost their election deposits.
“Therefore, in strategising for GE15, while we address the regionalism sentiment and local party issue. The importance of a national party with a national platform must not be overlooked.
“This is especially so when we are talking about national politics in GE15,” he said, claiming that Sarawak DAP is a local party and all its state committee members are Sarawakians.
He said the Sarawak chapter has autonomy over matters in Sarawak, but with the advantage of a national platform and the backing of an established national party.
On March 27, PSB president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said his party would be liaising with other Opposition parties in Sarawak and Sabah to formalise a Borneo Alliance which would be a credible and significant force in federal politics.
He said he was confident that the Borneo Alliance would have the support of Sarawakians and Sabahans as it would offer for the first time a combined strategy and common purpose in the positions of the two states in the federation.
He added the synergistic partnership would be a leap forward for the Borneo states.
