PETALING JAYA: Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) continues to remain in the opposition bench of the Sarawak state assembly despite signing an MoU with a component of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition.
With the proposed merger between PSB and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) yet to be formalised, state assembly Speaker Asfia Awang Nassar said the status quo remains.
According to The Borneo Post, Asfia said the legislative assembly’s Standing Orders state that the seating arrangement in the assembly is up to his discretion.
“Now, this is governed by whether that merger is recognised and sanctioned by the ruling GPS. If it is not sanctioned, then the status quo will remain.
“If it is sanctioned and (PSB assemblymen) are all taken in and embraced as fellow GPS members, then I will have to review the seating arrangement,” he was quoted as saying.
PSB currently has three seats in the Sarawak assembly after Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How left the party last year.
With Sarawak DAP only winning two seats in the 2021 state polls, this made PSB the biggest opposition party in the state assembly.
However, in July, PSB president Wong Soon Koh stated the party’s support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg “in the spirit of unity”.
After the signing of the MoU, his PDP counterpart, Tiong King Sing, said the merger of the two parties would be finalised in December.