CM can be anyone as long as appointment is valid, says PKR man

KUCHING: A Parti Keadilan Sarawak (PKR) man regards the agreement between two opposition parties in choosing Bobby William as the chief minister should they succeed in forming the next state government, as ‘normal news’.

Commenting on this latest political development, PKR Sarawak secretary Abun Sui said: “I read this news as normal like any other news.

“The Chief Minister of Sarawak can be anybody, as long as that person is appointed under our parliamentary system,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

On Monday, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDS Baru) and Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) jointly announced at a press conference that Bobby, who is PBDS Baru president, was the two parties’ choice to be the next chief minister, in the event they emerge victorious in the coming state polls.

On the ideal personality that a chief minister should have, Abun said the leader must be fair and considerate to all the people in Sarawak, and not just pay lip service to them.

“Also, the chief minister needs to develop all of Sarawak areas in a fair manner,” he said, pointing out that any party or coalition that was able to secure a simple 42-seat majority in the state election could form the next Sarawak government.

He said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) – comprising the PKR, Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) – would contest in all 82 state seats, and each party could claim to have its own ‘chief minister-material candidate’.

From the 82, PKR would contest in over half of these seats.

“We (PKR) also can form Sarawak government if the people of Sarawak give us a mandate this time, and of course, we have many credible candidates who can be appointed as Chief Minister of Sarawak,” added Abun.