PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said there is no reason why his two year-old party Bersatu, even though it’s small and just established in the state, could not topple Sarawak’s ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the state election in 2021.
The Bersatu chairman said they have shown that they could do it since the party ousted Barisan Nasional which was in power for over 60 years.
“They said the BN could not be toppled. We did it on May 9,” he told some 2,000 people who packed the Dewan Suarah in the oil and gas town of Bintulu in northern Sarawak for the launch of Bersatu in the state tonight.
Dr Mahathir said any government could be changed if they are unpopular and the BN coalition was unpopular because “their leaders are corrupt and stole the people’s money”.
He said Sarawak is now a rich state with an equally big budget of RM11 billion to boot, but if the money does not trickle down to the people, it’s time to change the government.
“When the country is rich, the people must also be rich.
“If this money is not shared with the people, it’s time to change the government.”
Dr Mahathir, however, admitted that Bersatu could not have toppled Umno or the BN coalition on its own.
“If Bersatu had gone alone instead of with its (Pakatan Harapan) coalition partners (DAP , PKR and Amanah), it’s not possible to topple Umno.
“We did it because we were united. We help them, they help us. We need the support of the other partners in the PH coalition to be strong.”
And that partnership, he said, is key to taking over the state in 2021.
“It’s our aim. Our fight. To change the state government in the next state election.”
The Bersatu chairman also warned new members in the state that the party has no place for self-serving members who are looking for position.
“There is no place for people looking for position and wealth. No place for people with self-serving interest.”
He warned he would not hesitate to throw them out of the party that he said was formed with the aim to weed out corruption and dirty leaders in the government.
State co-ordinator Mohd Redzuan Mohd Yusof said the party in the last two months had received 30,000 applications to be members.
“More than we had anticipated,” he told reporters after the launching ceremony at the town’s dewan suarah (community hall).
He said they have not been screened but “most likely they will be approved”.
Redzuan, who is also entrepreneur development minister, said how fast they could be confirmed as members depends on how fast they could screen and register them.
He said Bintulu was picked for the launch because the town has a “special place in my heart”.
He said the first time he set foot in this town was in the 80s for the earth breaking ceremony of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) site in Tanjung Kidurong.
“Bintulu had become a kind of symbol of industrialisation, a reflection of the leadership of Dr Mahathir during his first tenure.
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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