BY JACINTHA JOLENE and ALEXANDRA LORNA
SRI AMAN: Will Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) be helping its Unity Government partners drum up support for the coalition ahead of the upcoming six state elections in the peninsula?
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Patinggi Ahmad Zahid Hamidi hinted as much at a press conference here today (July 2).
He revealed that he has held discussions with GPS secretary-general Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi about bringing over GPS top brass to assist in the election campaigns.
“We have discussed and reached an agreement (with GPS). InsyaAllah, the Premier himself will choose (the state he will be visiting) and we will also select several states to focus on,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid had earlier attended Parti Rakyat Sarawak’s (PRS) ‘Merarau Ngiling Tikai’ event held at Dewan Suarah Sri Aman
At the event he said the people in the six states of Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu should draw a leaf from the Sarawak experience.
Sarawak should be taken as a good example of political stability under the leadership of Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, he said, pointing out that this stability should be emulated at national level.
With many issues being played out by different political parties, he said the people should learn from their counterparts in Sarawak to elect political parties that would collaborate with the federal government for further progress.
“Do not raise unreasonable issues that cause worry to the people. Religious issues should also not be brought up, which are not based on legal sources but rather on the interpretations of certain individuals within specific parties,” he said.
“These issues are raised with the intention of influencing the hearts and minds of the people to support them.
“Therefore, what should be seen by the people, especially voters in the six states, is the political stability in Sarawak.
“In such a situation, in my opinion, I hope the political leaders in Sarawak could visit us (in Peninsular) when we hold the state election campaigns as I believe the experienced gained from the Sarawak state elections can also be learned by the six states in the future,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid also called on the people to not cater to the egos of specific leaders, nor to indulge in childish jokes made by certain leaders.
He stressed that the people are not to be used as subjects for experimentation, let alone be made the target of cheap jokes by certain leaders.
“Political issues are serious matters; they involve solving the people’s problems and prioritising the prosperity of the people. Progress and development must be brought,” he said.
Also present were Nanta, PRS president Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum, Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, Sri Aman MP Datuk Seri Doris Sophia Brodie, Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang and Deputy Minister of Utility and Telecommunication (Telecommunication) Datuk Liwan Lagang.
