KOTA SAMARAHAN, Dec 13 — Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) vice president Datuk Karim Rahman Hamzah today felt that there is no need for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to have a formal charter with Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN) to ensure that they jointly contest the next general election.
He said all the coalition parties need to have faith in each other without having to sign the charter.
“If we are already married, like husbands and wives, is it necessary for the husbands and wives to sign another charter?” he asked at a press conference after performing a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of an RM7 million integrated market at Kampung Tambirat in Asajaya, near here.
“We are already close to each other. We (GPS) set up the federal government with PN and BN. We have a good understanding with them, so is there any necessity for us to sign an agreement?” he asked.
Karim, who is also the state Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister and Asajaya State Assemblyman, said the moment they sign the charter means that the coalition parties do not trust each other.
He said the relationship between GPS, PN, and BN should be allowed to nurture naturally.
“Moreover, GPS is not interested to put our candidates in Peninsular Malaysia. You don’t have to worry about us.
“If there is anything to worry about, it is you who want to come and contest in our state, which Sarawakians will not be happy about.
“That is why GPS was set up in 2018 with the theme ‘Sarawak First’,” he said.
“We want to look after our state the way we want to be. You look after your own region and we take care of ours, but then we are friends because we want to see a stable federal government.
“That is why we give support to PN and BN to form the federal government, not to say that we want to take advantage. We want to see a stable federal government,” he said, stressing that a stable federal government will result in healthy economic growth.
On December 11, PN secretary-general Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin mooted for GPS, PN, and BN to a formal charter to ensure they jointly contest the next general election.
The Home Minister had said his proposal would ensure the continuity of the PN-BN Plus federal government.
Hamzah said a formal political charter between all three coalitions should be realised urgently, adding that it would build up Malaysians’ trust and confidence in the stability and ability of the partnering coalitions to govern and develop the country.
The proposed coalition would be founded on the principle of inclusivity, he said when asserting that all participating parties would be given equal room to express their views, regardless of their size and the communities they represent.