KUCHING, Aug 8 — Serian MP Datuk Seri Richard Riot hopes that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) could win all the three Bidayuh-majority seats in the 15th general election (GE15), in view of Puncak Borneo MP Datuk Willie Mongin having been accepted into the state’s present ruling coalition.
“We hope that with him (Willie) coming in, all the Bidayuh-majority parliamentary seats would go to GPS (in GE15). I am confident,” he told reporters when met briefly after the closing ceremony of ‘Jelajah Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia’ programme at Sarawak Stadium in Petra Jaya here yesterday.
Riot’s mention of the three Bidayuh-majority seats refers to Serian, Puncak Borneo and Mas Gading. The Mas Gading incumbent is Mordi Bimol of Democratic Action Party (DAP).
Willie’s application to Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), one of the four component parties of GPS, had been accepted, as revealed on Saturday by Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, who is also GPS chairman and PBB president.
Abang Johari had said that Willie’s application for membership was accepted by the party’s supreme council, with no conditions attached.
Willie won Puncak Borneo under the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) banner, during GE14 in 2018, before quitting the party amidst a political crisis dubbed as the ‘Sheraton Move’ in 2020, which led to the fall of Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led federal government.
Willie had maintained his claim of him being ‘merely parked’ in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), led by former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, after having left PKR. — Borneo Post Online
