BINTULU: Going by the spirit of consensus which the Barisan Nasional (BN) subscribes to, there is no chance for the United People's Party (UPP) and Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) to join the coalition.
In confirming this, Chief Minister and state Barisan chairman Tan Sri Adenan Satem said the coalition had long adopted the rule that if any one component party objected to the admission of new parties, then "they (the new parties) cannot come in".
"Not likely," he told reporters when asked on the possibility of UPP and Teras being accepted into the state Barisan.
Adenan had earlier attended the opening of the triennial general assembly of the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the Bintulu Civic Centre.
Adenan said, however, the two parties, which claimed to be Barisan-friendly, could be part of the government.
Teras president Tan Sri William Mawan, a former SPDP president, said on Nov 30 that the party would apply to join Barisan at the federal level in "due course."
Current SPDP acting president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing had objected to this.
Mawan (Pakan assemblyman), along with four other assemblymen - Datuk Peter Nansian (Tasik Biru), Datuk Sylvester Entrie (Marudi), Rosie Yunus (Bekenu) and Paulus Gumbang (Batu Danau) - quit SPDP in the middle of this year and joined Teras.
UPP is led by Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, the state minister of local government and community development, who was formerly the assistant secretary-general of the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP).
He left the party in May this year after a protracted leadership crisis and SUPP objected to UPP wanting to join the Barisan.
Besides SPDP and SUPP, the state Barisan comprises Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the backbone of the coalition and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).
Adenan, when asked to elaborate on what he had said in his speech about avoiding three-cornered fights, said that previously, the elections would see contest among opposition, Barisan and independent candidates but now, the situation had changed and a split in the votes could affect the Barisan's chances of winning. - Bernama
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
