KUCHING: It is most likely that Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) want to be seen as national parties; hence the recent signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two parties was held in Kuala Lumpur instead of Sarawak.
Political analyst Dr Lee Kuok Tiung said PDP, formerly known as Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) had already shown interest to go national after it decided to remove ‘Sarawak’ and renamed the party as PDP in 2016.
Although the party might be doing well in Sarawak, he said, it does not necessarily mean that they can perform the same at the national level.
“Just like the Parti Warisan Sabah, they are good in Sabah, but for them to establish in the Peninsula, it is a completely different scenario and requires another political model,” he said.
Speaking to the New Sarawak Tribune, Lee felt that it would still be best for any Sarawak based parties to avoid or stay away from Malaya politics which are shackled by sensitive issues related to the 3Rs (race, religion and royalty).
He said there are still many important things and issues in Sarawak that need to be given due attention.
On Friday, Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian had questioned why the signing of the MoU between two Sarawak based parties had to be held in Kuala Lumpur.
Dr Sim, who is also the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president, said that Sarawak is known for stability and neutrality.
Hence, he was ‘amazed’ that two Sarawak parties were having the function to join the ‘chaos’ in Kuala Lumpur.
He also stressed that since Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is a coalition consisting of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), SUPP and PDP, any decision must be based on consensus.
Lee said it is definitely good news for PDP; to have PSB’s support as it will strengthen the party.
Nevertheless, in order for the two parties to merge or to have PSB to be part of the coalition, he said, consensus from all four component parties would be needed.
“Even if it is a win-win situation when the two parties merge, many other questions will arise, such as who will be the boss (party president)? Are they part of GPS? Are they a new entity?
“I think the most practical way is for PSB to be dissolved and join PDP, but this will be against the anti-hopping law, thus, they are having the idea ‘to merge’ instead,” he added.
He also said Abang Johari, who had met Dr Sim before speaking to the media regarding PDP-PSB relationship (on Friday), showed that the GPS chairman was placing SUPP as his priority, showing respect to the component party.
“Abang Johari’s message is clear-cut; that the PDP-PSB collaboration is merely at the party-to-party level and nothing to do with the coalition,” he added.
