GPS wolf in sheep’s clothing — Dr Yii
KUCHING: The decision by Sarawak Barisan Nasional ( BN) component parties to leave the once formidable coalition to form Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) does not change the fact that the new coalition is merely a wolf in sheep’s clothing, said Dr Kelvin Yii.
The Bandar Kuching MP said leaders in the four component parties (PBB, PRS, SUPP and PDP) were still the same people who he claimed to have been abusing their powers over the years.
“The people voted against BN in the last general election because of corrupt practices by those in the coalition.
“It is not just the name ( BN) the people rejected but also those who are in the coalition because they have abused their powers by being involved in corrupt practices as well as being accomplices in the alleged 1MDB scandal and the billions of ringgit that were stolen from the people,” he told a press conference at DAP Sarawak headquarters here yesterday.
Dr Yii said those leaders should have left BN before the GE14 and not after the collapse of BN if they were truly individuals of principles.
“Would they have done the same if BN and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had won the general election?
“Or, is this just a gimmick... a change of clothes for their own self interest and political survival?” he asked.
Describing the formation of GPS as putting ‘old wine in a new bottle’, Dr Yii said the new coalition was just a ‘change of facade’ with a ‘core that is still rotten’.
“I call upon Sarawakians to see beyond this rhetoric for it is not the BN that stole the people’s money and their lands but it’s those people within the party who did all these things.”
Sharing the same sentiment was Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong who said the switch to GPS was merely a political gimmick for the survival of the four component parties.
“It does not bring any benefit to the people of Sarawak. What we’ve witnessed today (yesterday) is only the mere announcement of getting out from BN and creating a new name. There is no structural plan or any repent or change from the leaders of these four component parties on how they are going to transform Sarawak or how they are going to make the Sarawak government a clean, transparent and accountable government.”
Yong said if the component parties were looking to win the hearts of the people, they must first ‘cleanse themselves’.
“They should get out of this corrupt practice, abuse of power and be accountable for every sen the Sarawak government had spent.”
She said GPS contained the same people who were involved in unscrupulous acts.
“It is not as simple as changing to a new coalition because the faces of those in it are still the same.”
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg announced the unanimous decision of the four component parties to leave BN for GPS yesterday.
The PBB president said the decision was made after much deliberation, reflection and due consideration, taking into account the country’s current political development post-GE14.
“We believe it is timely and appropriate for Sarawak to embark on a new political platform, going forward, in order to face challenges, in line with the changing aspirations, needs and demands of a very wide range of cross-section of Sarawak populace.”