KUCHING: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Masing wants Sarawak’s new chief minister to ensure genuine power sharing in the state’s administration.
Current Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud yesterday announced Special Functions Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) publicity chief Tan Sri Adenan Satem as Sarawak’s new and fifth chief minister.
Masing stressed that there must be genuine power sharing involving all races in the state because if not, the state Barisan Nasional (BN) would have problems in facing the 11th state election, with is due in June 2016.
“The Dayak community must be recognised, not just in terms of development but also in terms of power sharing.
“Do not sideline the Dayaks in these two areas because we are going to face a lot of educated Dayaks (in the election) and they know where they stand.”
Masing said this to reporters while waiting for the arrival of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for the meeting with state BN component party presidents at Pullman Hotel, here, last night.
He said the main hurdle BN was going to face in the next state election would be in the Dayak-majority seats.
“That’s why I am monitoring this (list),” said Masing, showing the list of the 29 Dayak-majority seats for the next state election.
Masing said there was a need to focus on the 29 seats in order for the state BN to continue winning the state election with a big majority.
“PBB has the fixed deposit (27 seats) that you cannot touch, which are Muslim-majority areas while the Dayak community has 29 seats and these are where the attack will be from the opposition.
“We have to work harder because it is not going to be easy. There will be a lot of work to do in the next two years,” said the Sarawak Land Development Minister.
Masing also stressed on the need for BN component parties to be united,adding that he had full trust in Adenan with his intelligence and would be able to solve the conflict within two BN component parties in Sarawak – Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP).
He said the problem needed to be solved to enable BN to face the opposition with full strength in the next state election.
“All he (Adenan) needs to do now is to get the cooperation of all the various component parties.
“Tan Sri Adenan has the intelligence to do that, but intelligence must be translated into political reality. We have to be united and work harder because it is not going to be easy,” he added.
Sarawak has 71 state seats, of which 55 were won by BN in the last state election in 2011.
PBB won all the 35 seats it contested while SUPP only managed to win six out of 19 seats it contested, PRS won eight out of nine seats and SPDP won six out of eight seats they contested.
DAP contested in 15 seats and won 12, PKR contested in 49 seats and won three, while only one out of 41 Independent candidates won a seat.
PAS, Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) failed in their attempts to win any seat. –BERNAMA