PSB-PDP ‘illicit affair’ a mere irritant in Sarawak

It has been a week since the so-called tie-up between Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).

So far, there has been no further development since July 13 when the two parties called a press conference in Kuala Lumpur to announce their new alliance.

This was a far cry from the earlier hype of a major political development that was supposed to rock Sarawak and hold Sarawakians spellbound.

In the end, there was no earth-shattering news story and I think the reporters left the media meet held at a Bukit Bintang hotel last Thursday evening very disappointed.

I have also received a copy of the memorandum of understanding signed by the presidents of PDP and PSB, Tiong King Sing and Wong Soon Koh respectively, from a friend online.

The one-page statement in several paragraphs only spelt out an understanding between the two parties to collaborate. It did not mention the possibility of a merger, although many have speculated that it will take place eventually.

No wonder there were no major lead stories of the event in the national media the next day, although the pressie was held in Kuala Lumpur.

My conclusion is that the PDP-PSB courtship is nothing significant but a mere irritant in Sarawak. It is politically irritating in the sense that whatever the outcome of the event, it will make no difference to the political equation in the state.

Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is in such a comfortable position that it really does not need an additional ally. The coalition has 76 seats in the 82-member legislative assembly. Whether PDP will bring in an additional three PSB representatives to the GPS fold or not is irrelevant.

What’s the big deal?

When I was first asked for my views on the PDP-PSB alliance last week, my immediate reaction was a nonchalant “So, what’s the big deal?”

Seriously, what’s the big deal when two small parties, probably tired and bored with their current situation, suddenly decided to embark on a courtship?

In this case, it is probably PSB who has initiated the move as it has done so on many occasions in the past. As a new opposition party, PSB needed allies to take on the mighty GPS.

Not only that, Wong (top picture, right) did not have a smooth ride since forming PSB as he had to face many obstacles, one of which was the departure of his confidante, Tiong Thai King, just before the 2021 Sarawak elections.

It was reliably learned that Thai King, the younger brother of Rimbunan Hijau boss, timber magnate Tiong Hiew King, was pressured into resigning from the opposition PSB.

With the younger Tiong’s departure, the party was believed to have also lost one of its key financiers.

Nevertheless, Wong confidently declared that it was PSB’s intention to defeat GPS and form the new Sarawak government after the December election.

I must say I was greatly surprised at how naïve Wong must be to ever think that his new party alone could topple GPS.

After all, Wong is no political greenhorn. He was a minister in the Sarawak cabinet for many years while he was in SUPP. I wonder whether he was hallucinating before the December 2021 polls.

After the miserable showing, Wong attempted to court the DAP before the 15th general election in November last year.

Many guessed right about Wong’s objective for courting DAP. He wanted to contest the Sibu parliamentary seat whose incumbent was DAP’s Oscar Ling.

Of course, DAP would have none of it and the negotiation fizzled out. Wong was soundly defeated in Sibu, as did all PSB’s candidates in GE15.

PDP has nothing to lose

This current PDP-PSB courtship is different from the PSB-DAP tie-up which collapsed before the elections last year. Both PSB and DAP are opposition parties, so they are free to date.

However, as PDP is officially a GPS component party (and hence, considered “married” to GPS), it could be said that PDP and PSB has embarked on an “illicit affair”.

In many cases of illicit affairs, the parties involved may come to regret their actions and feel remorseful about the pain they caused to themselves and others.

In the case of PDP-PSB, it is also true that political relationships built on deception and dishonesty are unlikely to be fulfilling or sustainable in the long run.

Wong has stated that in the interest of unity, his party would be supporting the federal government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the Sarawak government under Premier Abang Johari Openg.

Of course, we know that Wong would surely be singing a different tune if his party was in control in Sarawak. And how can PSB support Anwar’s government when it does not have a single member of Parliament? Mere sound bites at best for now, isn’t it?

What Wong should have done, if he was really sincere in wanting to see unity, is to return to SUPP - including his Bawang Asan seat which rightly belongs to SUPP - and retire by the next Sarawak election due in 2026.

By then, Wong will also be 85. Who wants to be actively involved in politics at that age? (Possibly except for one well-known nonagenarian.)

As I see it, King Sing and PDP were caught in this irritating game initiated by Wong. But they were willing partners and we should not blame them for it.

King Sing is a shrewd politician. He knows that PDP has nothing to lose. It is already the smallest of the four GPS partners and the party might just be able to pick up some crumbs from the spoils of war.

I hope that at the end of this affair, common sense and fair play will prevail. The three seats held by PSB should be returned to its original owners/parties, that is Bawang Asan and Engkilili to SUPP and Ba’kelalan to PDP.

PSB can close shop, and the three self-serving turncoats in the party can go fly a kite as they are now detested by many Sarawakians. Then, everyone in GPS and in Sarawak will have one fewer irritant in the future to deal with.

As a Sarawakian, I must also say we can do with less of such nonsense from the politicians in our homeland. It’s really irritating! - Mkini

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FRANCIS PAUL SIAH is a veteran Sarawak editor and heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). He can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.