KUCHING: Datuk Ali Biju will defend his seat on a Perikatan Nasional ticket, setting the stage for a showdown with the coalition’s Federal partner Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
His candidacy was announced by Perikatan chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday (Nov 1) night.
"I am honoured to carry the banner of Perikatan Nasional in the contest for GE15 in the parliamentary seat of Saratok," Ali said in a statement following the announcement.
Despite the prospect of facing GPS, he emphasised that the state coalition was a "friend and partner" of Perikatan in the Federal Government.
"As a Federal deputy minister, I enjoy serving the country alongside my friends and colleagues from GPS," he added.
Ali won the Saratok seat as a PKR candidate in 2018 but left the party to join Bersatu after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in 2020.
In last December's state election, he withdrew as an Independent candidate for the Krian state seat midway through the campaign to support the GPS candidate from Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
At the time, he wanted GPS to let him defend Saratok in GE15 in exchange for his withdrawal in Krian.
However, GPS has insisted that it would contest all 31 seats in Sarawak and not give way to Ali in Saratok.
"When I withdrew from the contest for the state seat of Krian, I had sincerely campaigned for the PDP candidate and kept my end of the agreement that was made between both parties," Ali said in the statement.
"Due to circumstances overtaken by events, my president's decision that I carry the Perikatan symbol in GE15 is not an issue."
In a surprise move, incumbent Lubok Antu MP Jugah Muyang will also defend his seat on a Perikatan ticket as a Bersatu member.
Jugah won as an Independent candidate in 2018 and joined PKR shortly after GE14, but quit in 2020 to become a Perikatan-friendly Independent.
In March this year, he applied to join GPS component Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) but was unsuccessful.
Perikatan will field two other candidates in Sarawak, Duke Janteng from Bersatu in Bintulu and a PAS candidate who is yet to be named in Batang Lupar.
