PBB set to leave BN?

> Zahid allegedly said move would ‘destroy’ Barisan Nasional

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak’s ruling party is set to pull out of Barisan Nasional, crippling the coalition’s hope of returning to federal power.

Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu’s (PBB) withdrawal from BN will take place despite a last-minute plea by the coalition’s acting chief, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, The Malaysian Insight reported yesterday.

The dominant Sarawak party has 13 parliamentary seats and has been a powerful vote bank for BN. PBB is BN’s secondlargest component.

Its withdrawal from BN is set to cause other Sarawak parties to leave BN and possibly trigger an exodus of Umno/BN politicians.

On May 31, PBB president Datuk Abang Johari Abang Openg had informed Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad about the decision to leave BN.

Malaysian Insight quoted sources as saying Sarawak would support the Pakatan Harapan government in “matters of Sarawak interests, and in the interest of Malaysia as a whole”.

Abang Johari, who is Sarawak chief minister, was said to have met BN’s acting chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi after his meeting with Mahathir.

According to the report, Zahid used the word “hancur” (destroyed) to describe the coalition’s desperation if it were to lose its 19 federal lawmakers in Sarawak.

“Zahid told Abang Jo that BN would be destroyed if PBB left,” said the source.

Abang Johari was reported to have said it was PBB that could be destroyed in the 2021 state polls if it did not distance itself from BN’s excesses and corruption.

The ruling Sarawak coalition headed by PBB was said to have had a “Plan B” in place ahead of the 14th general election (GE14).

On May 16, Abang Johari had revealed that the state BN was reviewing its position in the pact after GE14, and floated the idea of forming a coalition of Sarawak-based parties.

The decision to leave BN, however, will be firmed up only after PBB has consulted the three other Sarawak-based BN parties – Parti Rakyat Sarawak, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party.

SUPP reportedly made the decision to abandon BN in its central working committee meeting on the night of May 15, but has yet to make this public.

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