Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) candidate for Puteri Wangsa Steven Choong Yoon speaks during an interview session with media at the Grand Paragon Hotel, Johor Baru March 2, 2022. — Picture by Hari Anggara
JOHOR BARU, March 3 — Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM,) which is making its electoral debut in the March 12 Johor state poll, is not keen to become a component member of any of the existing political coalitions.
Its senior vice-president Steven Choong said the party’s stand is to be friendly to whichever power that succeeds in forming the next state government, provided its support and cooperation is reciprocated.
“We do not join any component of the party but our party’s stand is we still support the current government. No matter the government that will be formed.
“If we win only four, then we will support the government that will be established. We don’t know what government will be formed,” he told a press conference at the Johor media centre here last night.
In its maiden election, PBM is contesting four out of 56 constituencies. It has no formal alliance with any other party in the crowded field.
Choong, who is contesting in the Puteri Wangsa seat, also did not specify which alliance or party he wants PBM to ally or cooperate with.
“We will join the government if the government body accepts us. We will convey the desire to support, so accept or not is up to them,” he added.
Choong, who is currently Tebrau MP, won the parliamentary seat under a PKR ticket in the 2018 general election but declared himself an independent in February last year.
Choong and another former PKR MP Larry Sng of Julau, later declared their support for Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who formed the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition that succeeded the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition that had been voted in Election 2018.
Both Choong and Sng formed PBM late last year with the latter becoming the its president.
Choong said he contested in Puteri Wangsa, which is within the greater parliamentary constituency of Tebrau, so that he could help the constituents at both the state and federal levels if he won the March 12 vote.
However, he denied that it gave him an advantage in voter support.
“If you do well with your voters it will be an advantage, If you don’t then it will be a disadvantage,” he said.
Choong related that he was shunned by some of his voters in the first six months after his departure from PKR but is confident they will support his bid for the state seat.
“After six months, people come back to me and find that I have not changed at all. I am still me. Some began to come and asked me to explain to them why I made this move so I said development within PH and PKR is not good,” he said.
He added that while some of his constituents are “die-hard” supporters of PH, the majority are fence sitters who just want a representative that will work for them.
Choong is going up against five others in Puteri Wangsa.
They are Tebrau MCA chief Ng Yew Aik who is representing Barisan Nasional, Loh Kah Yong of PN, Khairil Anwar Razali of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), Amira Aisya Abd Aziz of the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), and an independent Adzrin Adam.
Johor goes to the polls on March 12. Early voting is on March 8.