AS voices of discontent for UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to call off a possible Barisan Nasional (BN) pact with Pakatan Harapan (PH) grows louder after caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob having joined the fray, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is taking no chances by reaching out to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to be part of PH’s unity government plan.

At a glance, Anwar’s invitation could not have come at a better time for GPS chairman Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg who himself has been facing a backlash for wanting to join forces with the PAS-dominant Perikatan Nasional (PN).

But with time running out – the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has extended by 24 hours till 2pm today (Nov 22) for the Malaysian 10th PM hopeful to get his house in order so to speak – one wonders if the Sarawak Premier who knows pretty well that his coalition is in a GE15 kingmaker position will be contented with just a deputy premiership post at best.

Last night (Nov 21), Anwar told The Vibes that he has deliberated to Abang Johari why aligning GPS with PH would spell a better option for Sarawak as opposed to PN.

“Yes, I reached out to Abang Johari through our trusted representatives and explained why we are better partners for Sarawak and also Sabah,” the PKR chairman told the news portal briefly when contacted.

“We have a deep respect for Sarawak and its people and we understand their struggles and needs. Sarawak and Sabah just want to be treated fairly and PH can offer that.”

While sorting out their differences could be a headache of sorts, Abang Johari will now have to consider the religious sentiment and sensitivity of Sarawakians given that the state boasts the highest number of Christians in the whole of Malaysia with some data claiming Christians make up an estimated 50% of the state’s population.

Even as PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan has assured that his party would not implement measures that oppress non-Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak if it were to become part of the new federal government, Sarawakians are unlikely to treat that as music to their ears given the tendency of the Islamist party to flip-flop on its words and policies.

As for UMNO, Ismail Sabri who is also the party’s vice-president has seemingly expressed his readiness to be sacked than to support PH – a stance with runs parallel with that of caretaker defence minister and Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

More interestingly, the party’s deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan contended that it is best for PH to forge an alliance with PN as both coalitions won the most seats in the recently concluded 15^th General Election (GE15) while BN should instead focus on a “check and balance” role.

“We as BN must accept the decision of the people who have rejected us,” he pointed out in a Facebook post yesterday (Nov 21). “If they (PH and PN) are still unable to form a government, please don’t blame us. This is the result of the democratic process to return the mandate to the people and we must respect the decision of the people.”

While Abnag Johari will have the last say with regard to which ally GPS would prefer to be acquainted with, the four component parties in GPS will discuss among themselves before making a final decision on which coalition it would support, according to Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

PDP is one of the four component parties in GPS along with Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).

Meanwhile, PH’s hope of roping in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) as part of its Borneo pact strategy may face a bit of glitch given Sabah BN has lambasted GRS’ chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor for breaking their pre-election agreement to support BN after GE15.

“We had an agreement that GRS will support BN (but) Hajiji has broken the deal by giving support to PN. He has declared war on us,” claimed Sabah BN chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin yesterday (Nov 21). – Nov 22, 2022

https://focusmalaysia.my/anwar-mobilises-plan-b-by-courting-potential-borneo-allies/