Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) president Wong Soon Koh was acting in his own interest by asking DAP to give away Sibu parliamentary seat, said Sarawak DAP.
This was after Soon Koh confirmed that he will follow his party's wish and contest in Sibu in the coming general election.
Sarawak DAP deputy chairperson Alice Lau told Malaysiakini that Soon Koh’s decision showed that he did not really want to unite the opposition parties in Sarawak to fight GPS.
“Now he keeps saying that ‘DAP has not learned its lesson and it will face the local parties in its incumbent seats in the election’.
“Obviously he wants DAP to lose, and this intention is completely wrong. If his target is to fight GPS, he wouldn’t have said this.
“He is now hinting that the Lanang seat is to be given to the Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) after they reach seat negotiation consensus. But if he wants to work with us, he cannot do this.
“After all, he just wants to contest in Sibu without other (opposition parties) to compete with him,” said the Lanang MP.
She added that the result of the Sarawak state election last year clearly showed that only GPS will enjoy the benefit when there are multi-cornered fights.
‘Local parties’ sentiment
Lau also dismissed Soon Koh’s playing on the ‘local parties’ sentiment in a parliamentary election.
“Some of the local parties which PSB works with is advocating independence for Sarawak.
“But if you don’t agree for Sarawak to stay in Malaysia, why should you contest in the parliamentary election?” questioned Lau.
It is believed that Lau is referring to the PBK, which is known for its stance of advocating an independent Sarawak.
PSB is currently working with four smaller local parties - PBK, Aspirasi, PBDSB and Sedar - to avoid multi-cornered fights in the coming general election.
Hence, Lau said the only room for DAP to negotiate with PSB now is for those GPS seats.
She insisted that DAP will not give up Sibu, a parliamentary seat which has been held by her party since 2010.
“Otherwise, this will mean DAP loses one seat even before the GE15. We could not justify this to our grassroots and supporters,” Lau explained.
Lau is one of the three-person committees for Sarawak DAP, which is in charge to negotiate with other non-GPS political parties in Sarawak.
She also dismissed Soon Koh’s statement that DAP has no organised grassroots in Sibu, stressing that DAP’s Sibu service centre has been there for 13 years.
Ling to defend Sibu
Meanwhile, Sibu MP Oscar Ling told Malaysiakini that he would likely defend his seat in GE15.
He expected a tough battle if Soon Koh, a senior political figure in Sibu, is going to contest against him.
“After all, Soon Koh has his democratic rights to run in any election. But we still hope that DAP and PSB can reach an agreement to fight GPS one-on-one," added Ling.
On Aug 12, Malaysiakini reported that PSB is asking DAP to give up Sibu and that Soon Koh might consider running for the seat.
The 80-year-old political veteran confirmed yesterday that he will contest in Sibu to follow his party’s wish. He clinched the Bawang Assan state seat for the sixth term in last November’s state polls - which is a seat located in Sibu.
There are 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak, of which GPS holds 19 seats, DAP holds six, and PKR and PSB garnered one seat respectively. Another four Sarawak MPs do not belong to any political coalition but they support the federal government. - Mkini
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