No opposition, no problem: backbenchers will keep check, says Karim

 Sarawak minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah says state government backbenchers will act like the opposition in the state assembly should GPS win all seats.

Gabungan Parti Sarawak holds 80 of the 82 seats in the current state assembly, with the remaining two seats held by DAP. Elections are expected to be held by December.

PETALING JAYA:

Backbenchers from Gabungan Parti Sarawak will keep the Sarawak state government in check if GPS manages a clean sweep at the next state election, says state minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

Karim said backbenchers would act as a pressure group “like the opposition” in the event GPS wins all 82 seats at the polls, Dayak Daily quoted him as saying.

“We have our own checks and balances, including the ombudsman unit and other mechanisms to ensure accountability,” he was quoted as saying.

GPS currently holds 80 of the 82 seats in the assembly, with the remaining two seats, Padungan and Pending, held by DAP.

Karim, who is the information chief of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, the linchpin of GPS, told FMT last year that the GPS state government maintains adequate checks and balances despite concerns about the lack of a strong opposition.

In November 2023, Sarawak became the first state to have an ombudsman unit set up by law, after the Sarawak Ombudsman Bill was passed at the state assembly.

However, in 2025, Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen accused the state government of dragging its feet through prolonged delays and a lack of transparency in presenting a report from the unit. - FMT