REFORMS OUT, CASH IN? AFTER DENIALS, AZMIN CARTEL’S BARU BIAN JOINS PARTI SARAWAK BERSATU
FORMER PKR lawmakers Baru Bian and See Chee How have joined Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), along with their supporters.
PBS president Wong Soon Koh said the party accepted the Selangau MP and Batu Lintang assemblyman’s application as they shared a common aspiration for the future of the state.
“This meeting of minds gave Baru and See the confidence to apply to join PSB, and we are indeed very happy to accept their applications,” he told a press conference in Kuching today, adding that they are committed towards a multiracial, multireligious and multicultural society, and a Sarawak identity that does not distinguish between people on the basis of race, religion and culture.
Wong noted that PSB is ready to accept other former PKR members who want to join the party.
Speaking at the same press conference, Baru said there was not enough time for him and See to launch a new party in the state before the next polls.
“A new party was not necessary after discovering that PSB’s aspirations were similar to ours.
“We are confident with 15 years of experience as a capable finance minister and having held other cabinet portfolios, Wong is in a unique position to steer us in the right direction,” he said.
As former Sarawak PKR chief, Baru was among PKR’s 11 MPs who quit the party, which led to the Pakatan Harapan government collapsing in February.
However, after leaving PKR, the former works minister did not join Perikatan Nasional and sat in Parliament as an independent.
PSB sits in opposition in Parliament and Baru’s addition swells the party’s ranks in the Dewan Rakyat to two, joining Sri Aman MP Masir Kujat.
Baru’s change in status means the opposition still has 109 MPs.
See, on the other hand, was sacked from PKR last month amid allegations of collaborating with other parties to undermine the party leadership.
With See’s entry into PSB, the party now counts six assemblymen among its ranks.
PSB, which splintered from the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) in 2014, was never a member of GPS although Wong was previously in the state cabinet.
Following Wong’s resignation from the cabinet last year, PSB is now an independent party and no longer GPS-friendly.
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