Sarawak PKR chief jabs at GPS' alleged history of vote buying

Sarawak PKR chief Roland Engan took a veiled jab at long-running allegations that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) - and its predecessor Sarawak BN - engaged in vote buying during the state election.

This is after a GPS leader said PKR should stay out of the next Sarawak election in the spirit of the federal coalition government.

In his retort on Facebook yesterday, Roland (above) said parties that are part of the federal coalition government would surely run a clean campaign in the Sarawak election.

"Under the unity government and Malaysia Madani, the Sarawak election should be the cleanest where every candidate easily abides by the RM100,000 spending limit.

"This is as candidates from parties that form the unity government and support Malaysia Madani must surely be clean and cooperative with the Election Commission and MACC in fighting money politics," he said.

GPS and Sarawak BN have repeatedly been accused of vote buying during elections, a charge they have repeatedly denied through the years.

In the last state election, GPS maintained its supermajority, bagging 76 seats, while Pakatan Harapan suffered setbacks and managed to win just two seats compared to the 10 seats it won in 2016.

Of the two seats won by Harapan in 2021, both were DAP's while PKR reversed any gains it made over the years and suffered a wipeout.

‘PKR no need to get involved’

Yesterday, GPS leader Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah warned that PKR’s involvement in the next Sarawak election could jeopardise the federal coalition’s stability.

He said as PKR has no seats in Sarawak at the moment, there was no need for the party to challenge the balance of parties in the state.

Roland said while he appreciated all views on PKR's participation in the Sarawak election, he said there were other matters besides the current status quo to consider.

"I prefer to look at the factor of whether the rights and welfare of Sarawakians are well guarded or not, before deciding on whether to contest in the election.

"What is the use of unity and stability if the rights and welfare of the people are ignored willy-nilly?

"If all parties are respectful, uphold democracy and don't practice revenge politics, the involvement (of PKR) in the Sarawak election should not be viewed negatively as potentially jeopardising the unity government," he said. - Mkini