KUCHING: It is not that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is unfriendly to Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) as claimed, but it has to defend itself internally, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Jemut Masing.
Masing said whatever the president Datuk Seri Wong Sooh Koh (or PSB) does, there is always going to be reactions to it.
Wong was quoted as having said that he considered quitting his ministerial posts in the state Cabinet, claiming of hostile treatment by GPS.
First, they are not being friendly to some component parties within GPS, said Masing.
“Of course, we have reacted. Don’t expect us to sit down and just take it,” he told reporters after attending a Gawai Dayak open house and ‘ngiling bidai’ ceremony organised by Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) at Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) hall yesterday.
The Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president said he believed Wong does not understand what he himself said.
Flipping Wong’s own words about having his arms and legs being cut off, Masing said that in fact, PSB was trying to do that to GPS members, first by stealing some of the boys (members) of PRS, then others in GPS.
“That demands some kind of response from us. You don’t expect us to just take that kind of blow quietly,” he said.
He said if those who had resigned from their former parties are not friendly to GPS, there is no chance of the coalition taking them in.
“You (Wong) took them (members of GPS components) in gladly. That is not a friendly gesture. So, this is not us being unfriendly, but just us being defensive,” he said.
When asked if GPS would become weak if PSB is shooed off, Masing said it would not make any difference as the party was unfriendly with the coalition first.
“You see, it is better to fight a non-enemy than to fight somebody you do know.
“If they (PSB) declare where they stand it would be easier for everybody. I was in that position for seven years and I did not hide behind anybody else. When I said I will fight, I will fight. There is no hidden agenda behind us,” he said.
He then said for Wong to be seen as an honourable politician, he must make clear whether he was for or against GPS.
As to whether or not he would he feel sorry if PSB were to go, he said there was no time to be sorry, and no time to waste.
“As the chief minister once said, ‘You touch one, you touch all’. In GPS, this means that if you disturb one of my boys, I’ll come after you.
“You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to understand that, and the writing has been on the wall, but they never want to read it,” he said.
