STAR keen to join Pakatan Harapan Sarawak
KUCHING: State Reform Party (STAR) Sarawak has expressed its wish to join Pakatan Harapan Sarawak so that there would be straight fights between the opposition and the ruling Barisan Nasional ( BN) in all 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak in the 14th general elections (GE14).
STAR Sarawak president Lina Soo said this would mean that all the opposition parties in Sarawak would have a single political platform to take on BN.
She, however, expressed regret that due to arrogance of some people, the opposition parties were not united which had led to BN remaining in power.
“In Sarawak, only three parties – DAP Sarawak, PKR Sarawak and Amanah Sarawak – are united under Pakatan Harapan Sarawak, while the rest like STAR, PBDS ( Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak) Baru, Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang ( PBK) are not,” she told reporters here yesterday.
Soo made these remarks when responding to a recent statement by PKR Sarawak chairman Baru Bian that STAR and PBDS Baru were not invited to join Pakatan Harapan Sarawak because they were small parties and did not have much support.
She said she was shocked by Baru’s remark since Pakatan Harapan leaders, in a joint statement, had said that they were open to and welcoming of other opposition parties.
“Like I said before, we are prepared to work with other opposition parties in Sarawak because we believe the opposition parties should seek allies to fight our common enemy – the ruling BN coalition,” she said.
Pakatan Harapan Sarawak was formally formed on March 18.
In a joint press statement issued that day, DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, Baru and state Parti Amanah Negara chairman Fidzuan Zaidi said they had concluded the negotiation on the allocation of seats between the three parties for the GE14.
They also said they were open to and welcoming of other opposition parties who were true to their cause.
On another matter, Soo claimed that the Sarawak government had overpaid in acquiring the Bakun dam project, which might cause locals to be stuck paying back the state’s debt for the next 50 years.
She said the state government should have only paid Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd ( SHSB) a token sum of RM1 for Malaysia’s largest hydroelectric project, instead of RM2.5 billion.
“This is because the state government, through Sarawak Energy Bhd, has to take care of liabilities of RM6.15 billion from SHSB, the operator and owner of the dam,” she said.
SHSB is a company owned by the federal Finance Ministry Incorporated.
Lina noted that the state government had announced a new funding model for the project, and warned that there would be a hefty price to pay if bonds were to be issued.
“A debt of RM8.65 billion arising from the acquisition of RM2.5 billion plus the liabilities of RM6.15 billion means that each and every 2.7 million of Sarawak’s population will have to come up with RM3,200 to pay for the debt,” she claimed.
She also lamented the lack of transparency and accountability on the state government’s failure to consult with and disclose to the public any audit or viability studies on the intended purchase.