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KUCHING (Sept 14): The recent assertion by Mulu assemblyman Dato Gerawat Gala that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in not Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) in a new shirt is nothing short of a fallacy, said a Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) potential candidate.
Jau Jok, who is eyeing the Telang Usan seat in the next state election, said Gerawat’s comment should not go uncontested because of the ‘illogical’ reasoning given to justify his remarks.
“First of all, everyone knows that the four component parties of GPS are Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP). These were the same component parties under BN Sarawak, with the same group of people behind.
“It is also important to note that GPS was not purposely established as a new machinery with the intention to achieve new heights, rather it was, in fact, a mere change of name by the former Sarawak BN following the federal BN coalition’s defeat in the 2018 general election,” he said in a statement yesterday.
With exactly the same component political parties in GPS as it was in the former Sarawak BN, and the same group of people behind, how is it logical that GPS is not the same as Sarawak BN, Jau asked.
“It is, of course, no wonder that many people call GPS the ‘old Sarawak BN’ wearing a new baju (shirt). Because that is exactly what it is.”
Jau argued that Gerawat’s reasoning was a red herring fallacy in that the latter raised irrelevant issues to distract the people from the original issue that GPS is Sarawak BN in a new shirt.
“Even if we were to agree with YB Dato Gerawat about the truth of the various achievements and targets attained by GPS, these achievements remain exactly what they are: mere achievements.
“In no way can these achievements alter the fact that GPS is still Sarawak BN. Let’s say a student who did poorly in school but later did well in university – is it not illogical to say he is not the same person just because of his new achievements?”
Jau also questioned whether the achievements by GPS as listed by Gerawat were due to “cleverness and skills” or because the circumstances at those particular points in time allowed them to happen.
Gerawat, in his recent statement, had listed several achievements and targets attained by GPS within just over three years, which were not previously achieved by Sarawak BN.
He had stressed that these achievements and indicators showed that GPS was different from Sarawak BN, and that therefore GPS should not be treated as Sarawak BN ‘wearing a different shirt’ or under different name.