Sarawak Barisan Nasional parties to decide on way forward today

KUCHING: Today (June 12) is set to be another historic day for Sarawak as the state Barisan Nasional ( BN) components will meet to decide if they should disassociate themselves from the BN coalition.

The Sarawak BN lynchpin Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) has hinted that it would leave the BN fold that it had depended upon for political strength all this while as it gears towards the next Sarawak election (or SE2021).

The Sarawak election may be called latest by the fi rst quarter of 2021 and PBB under the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Open believes that it should not waste any more time to start campaigning for SE2021 after the Sarawak BN’s worst- ever performance in the last parliamentary election on May 9 – losing 12 of 31 seats contested.

Today, Abang Johari, who is Sarawak BN chairman, wi l l be getting the approval of PBB executive members and those from other components Sarawak United People’s Party ( SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak ( PRS) and Progressive Democratic Party ( PDP) as well as the so- called BN- friendly United People’s Party ( UPP) either to leave BN or remain true to its cause and struggle as the opposition at federal level.

Rumour has it that the Sarawak BN has come up with a new name for the new state alliance if leaving BN is confi rmed today. But the new name – Gagasan Parti Sarawak - would be academic if the Sarawak BN is not making any move to leave BN.

SUPP and PRS have already made it known that they would want to leave BN and UPP maintained that it was always outside the fold or will carry on with its independent status.