BY NATASHA JEE & NOOR SYAHHIRA HADY
KUCHING: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) has decided to form the next federal government together with Perikatan Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN), and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the decision was made in order to ensure that the wellbeing of the people is guaranteed, adding that for the economy of the country to be protected, a stable and strong government must be formed immediately.
“With that, GPS has taken the decision to form a coalition of PN, BN, GRS, and GPS to form the government for the people based on several matters,” he said in a special press conference after attending the pre State Legislative Assembly (DUN) meeting at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) headquarters today (Nov 20).
He said the matters include to uphold the supremacy of the Malaysian Constitution, the Sarawak Constitution and the rule of law provided for in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report.
“Next, to uphold the right to freedom of religion and the practice of diverse customs and cultures in Sarawak as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution, MA63 and the IGC Report.
“Furthermore, it is to have autonomy in terms of development planning in education and healthcare as well as other matters that are of interest to Sarawak,” he said.
Abang Johari, who is also the GPS chairman, said that the main focus now should ensure the stability of the country and the well-being of the people.
The 15th General Election (GE15) has resulted in a hung Parliament with no party securing a clear majority to form the new federal government.
Out of the 220 seats contested, Pakatan Harapan (PH) won 82 seats, PN won 73 seats, while BN only won 30 seats out of the 178 seats it contested.
GPS won 22 seats compared to 18 seats it had won in the last election, GRS (six); Parti Warisan Sabah or WARISAN (three), Independent (two), and Parti Bangsa Malaysia or PBM (one).
