Sarawak BN working to keep ‘fixed deposit’

Tan Sri Taib Mahmud leads Sarawak BN. — file pic

DARO, Jan 2 — The Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) will ensure that Sarawak remains the “fixed deposit” of BN in terms of support for the ruling coalition, said Igan MP Datuk Wahab Dollah.

He said the state should maintain its position as the “fixed deposit” for the BN in the next state and general elections.

Sarawak BN now holds 29 of the 31 parliamentary seats in the state and 62 of the 71 state seats.

“In the last general election (2008), the BN won fewer parliamentary seats in the peninsula, but Sarawak and Sabah made sure that the BN remained in power (at the federal level) despite the absence of a two-third majority in parliament,” he said at a Community Development Department (Kemas) event and New Year celebration in Kampung Tian here yesterday.

He said the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), a component of the Sarawak BN, had won 14 parliamentary seats in the 2008 general election, coming in third behind Umno and MCA in terms of the number of seats won.

The current term of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly ends in June.

Wahab also said that all BN MPs were expected to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on January 8 to discuss outstanding issues in their constituencies. — Bernama