KUCHING, Nov 9 — The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition is confident of winning two-thirds majority in the upcoming 12th Sarawak election, said Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice president Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

"If you are not confident, you will not go into a war, and GPS is confident of winning. We have prepared ourselves for a long time but I know our opponents are doing the same,” said Abdul Karim during a press conference today.

"This is the kind of confidence that GPS possesses right now, but we are not at the level of arrogance. We respect our political opponents, however small they are. We still respect them even when they are just a new party,” he added.

Likewise, Abdul Karim said GPS members respected Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), a political party not aligned with the ruling coalition but he believed the party seemed to be constrained with different ideologies of its members.

He regarded PSB as a party that took in members from other political parties who were not in agreement with their own top leadership, whether it is from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or the splinter group within GPS component parties, namely from PBB, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP).

"When birds of a feather start flocking together like that, you will never be able to get a very good party if the members all have their own ideologies. Some on environmental issues, some on the coastal road project and some who wish to be president of a party.”

Due to such factors, the tourism, arts and culture minister felt it would be difficult for members from PSB to be dependable as leaders of the state.

Moreover, Abdul Karim emphasised the main reason that GPS coalition had supported the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government was to ensure political stability, and hoped the federal government would leave the governing of Sarawak to the local-based political parties.

"Together with other political parties from Peninsular Malaysia, we formed the federal government to ensure political stability. On that perspective, we give our support to the federal government but it does not indicate that we are together as a partner.

"We might be partners in Parliament but it does not mean you are also our partners in Sarawak,” he said.

Abdul Karim said the administration of Sarawak should be left to the locally-based GPS coalition as it has a strong grasp of the requirements and needs of the local community.

However, Abdul Karim said it was up to the respective political party if they wished to contest in the state election, and he was confident that Sarawakian voters were mature enough to know who to vote for.

He said Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) had in fact contested in the state elections for many times and a majority of their candidates had lost their deposit.

Despite strict SOP imposed regulating political campaigning during the Covid-19 pandemic, Abdul Karim remarked that members of the public were already well aware of the personalities from different political parties seeking their support in the election.

"Candidates have their own ways of promoting themselves. The SOP is to safeguard the health of the public but it does not mean the public will not be informed of the candidates contesting in the election due to the SOP,” he said. — Borneo Post Online