SIBU: Members of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) in Bawang Assan play an important role in recapturing the Sibu parliamentary seat, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) election director said that the 15th general election (GE15) was the best opportunity to end the opposition’s dominance for the past 12 years.
“GE15 is very meaningful because it is the first time that GPS is contesting on its own in the parliamentary polls, including choosing its own candidates and using its own logo.
“In all previous elections, decisions on candidates required Putrajaya’s blessing. We also had to consult Putrajaya on many other decisions.
“Let us repeat the performance of GPS in the last state election (PRN) 2021 where we won 76 out of 82 contested seats. It was also the first time we contested on our ground,” he said.
Uggah said this during a meeting with PBB Bawang Assan branch members led by the Political Secretary to the Premier of Sarawak, Romeo Christopher Tegong on Thursday.
The deputy premier said that GPS wanted to win as many seats as possible out of the 31 contested seats including the Sibu and Lanang.
“With more GPS seats in parliament, Sarawak’s voice will be louder and stronger to protect our rights and interests and restore the rights eroded under MA63,” he said.
Uggah also urged the PBB members to focus on Undi18 and encourage all the new voters to vote for the GPS candidate for the Sibu seat, Clarence Ting.
“Please help make sure they are not misled by the propaganda and sweet promises of the opposition.
“We are in GPS, we don’t cheat, we don’t make empty promises. We want all races to have the same opportunity to improve their living standards through development plans and programmes,” he said.
Uggah said through GPS, Sarawak had the freedom to govern the state according to its own needs and privileges.
“So far, Sarawak under the leadership of Tan Sri Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg has performed very well. Abang Johari managed to find new options to generate additional income for the state,” he said.
For example, the introduction of the Oil and Gas Sales Tax allowed Sarawak to earn a total of RM9 billion in revenue to date.
“This is just one of his efforts and there are several others that he introduced,” he said.
On the request for a road connecting Sungai Kut in Dalat district to Rassau and then to Sibu, Uggah said it was being studied by the Public Works Department (JKR) of Sarawak.
