PBB leaders pour scorn on PAS’s ambitions in Sarawak

Sarawakians would never accept PAS’s ideologies.

(FMT) – PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man recently proposed that the party look into forming a political pact in Sabah and Sarawak.

Two Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) leaders have poured cold water on a proposal by PAS to grant its Sarawak chapter the autonomy to form alliances with other political parties in the state.

PBB vice-president Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said Sarawakians would never accept PAS’s ideologies.

He added that PAS had never won any seat when it contested in Sarawak in previous general elections and state polls.

Karim also pointed out that the Islamic party had in fact, suffered heavy losses.

“So which alliance does PAS intend to form,” he told FMT.

On Wednesday, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said there was a need for the party’s Sabah and Sarawak chapters to find a partner to form a political pact.

Acknowledging the party’s lack of support in Sabah and Sarawak, Tuan Ibrahim said there was a need for a different approach to win over Sabahans and Sarawakians, given the different political environment there.

Karim went on to remind PAS that the goal of the state’s ruling coalition, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) – of whom PBB is the lynchpin – was to usher in changes for the better.

“So why does PAS want to enter Sarawak?”

Meanwhile, PBB information chief Idris Buang said PAS should just accept the fact that it would never connect with Sarawakians, adding there is a huge difference in terms of culture and traditions between them and people in the peninsula.

He added that Sarawakians were wary of PAS based on what they had observed in Peninsular Malaysia.

“In fact, the parties that came together to form GPS are fed up with the kind of politics practised in Peninsular Malaysia, which was unpredictable,” he said.

Idris added that the political issues in Sarawak were also vastly different from the ones that made the news in the peninsula.