Ismail Sabri will be sworned in as the nineth Prime Minister by Agong on Friday August 21, 2021. Again it is GPS who puts him in power, knowing full well he is not the right person to lead the country at this very critical time when the Covid-19 pandemic is getting from bad to worse, the economy is collapsing, the ringgit is all time low, the national debt is all time high, very little foreign direct investments, multinational companies are exiting for neighboring countries, record unemployment, record business closures and above all many needless lives are lost daily.

Somehow GPS never seem to learn from their past mistakes for supporting the backdoor PN government which for 17 months had caused tremendous damage to the country and the people's lives. Everyone thought they would have regretted for having supported a failed government and would make amend and carry out the wishes of the people.

But it is not to be so. Worse still, they are now supporting UMNO whom they said in 2018, they had finally broken themselves free from the UMNO bondage for over 50 years. GPS by going to bed with PAS is already bad but they have made it worse by supporting UMNO again.

They misled Sarawakians by saying they had dissociated themselves from UMNO and would put Sarawak first and fight for all the rights of Sarawak.
They said they would be the Kingmaker in the PN government but it was all talk and empty rhetoric. Let us see if GPS would hoodwink the people a second time by saying they will be the Kingmaker again in the UMNO government. They were in the PN government for 17 months.

Did they get back any of Sarawak's rights? Do we think they can get it done with this UMNO government? They were part of the BN coalition together with this same group of UMNO people until May 9, 2018 and they got nothing from them. Don't expect to get anything from them this time around.

They know the poor track record and performance, as well as the racial tone of Ismail Sabri. In August 14, 2015 SUPP Youth Central Publicity and Information Secretary, Milton Foo and Pelawan Branch Secretary Michael Tiang Ming Tee lodged a police report against Ismail Sabri who was then the Minister of Rural and Regional Development for making a public remark in Kuala Lumpur that Low Yat Plaza 2 was only for Malay traders.

They believed that the remark by Ismail Sabri was of seditious tendency that promoted feeling of ill-will and hostility or hatred among different races and classes of the population as provided in Section 3(1)(e) of the Sedition Act 1948. Why then did SUPP join the rest of the GPS coalition to support Ismail Sabri as Prime Minister. One can only draw this conclusion. That SUPP is powerless in the GPS coalition and their voice doesn't carry weight.

The people of Sarawak did not vote GPS to do what they are doing now, that is to support a government and its leaders who were rejected by the people in the May 9, 2018 general election. By supporting them, they have revived and recycled the same PN team back into the government again who have already proven to be a failure. They only take care of their own interest instead of the people's interest.

With this incoming government, the country is heading into more uncertain times all because of GPS. If the country suffers, it goes without saying Sarawak will also suffer. Sarawakians will have to hold GPS to account if they are dragged into more sufferings. This government never seems to learn. The only way is to vote them out in the coming state election.

Raymond Thong
Director of Elections
Southern Zone
Parti Bumi Kenyalang