KUCHING: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will work with the central government on a friendly basis no matter which coalition is in control.
GPS parliamentary chief whip Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said it does not matter if Putrajaya is ruled by Pakatan Harapan (PH) or Barisan Nasional (BN), the position GPS will take is to be a Putrajaya-friendly state government.
Fadillah was replying to a question by a participant from Demak Laut during the closing of the Santubong parliamentary-level Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) seminar. The participant was asking if would GPS re-join BN if the later should win in the next General Election (GE15).
“After the change in political scenario, the Sarawak government decided to leave and form its own coalition, and the core reason was to stand on its own and fight for Sarawak,” he said.
Fadillah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Petra Jaya, said as GPS’ objective is to ‘Sarawak First’, it will support any policies good for Sarawak.
“If our rights are affected, just like the amendment of Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution, which does not meet the aspirations of the people, then we have to disagree,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Santubong MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said negotiations on Sarawak rights were openly done after former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak removed the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA).
“Before that it was difficult to speak about Sarawak rights. We would be arrested under ISA and thrown into jail if we did,” he said.
Wan Junaidi said as a last resort, Sarawak would go to court if the state’s rights under MA63 were not returned.
Among those present at the seminar were Tanjong Datu assemblywoman Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu, Demak Laut assemblyman Dr Hazland Abang Hipni, and Rural Electricity Assistant Minister and Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi.
