KUCHING: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) welcomes independent Lubok Antu MP Jugah Muyang @ Tambat to join the party after the latter’s decision to leave Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
PRS president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing said Jugah was welcome to be in PRS if he is interested to join.
“After all, the Lubok Antu seat belonged to PRS in the first place. It makes it easier for me to decide on who to nominate comes the 15th General Election (GE 15),” he told New Sarawak Tribune Saturday.
The former PKR vice-president on Friday announced he was quitting the party and pledged his support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government and the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government.
Jugah won the Lubok Antu seat as an independent during GE14. He later joined PKR which was part of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government then.
Jugah said due to the internal conflicts in PH and the resignation of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad causing the fall of PH, he decided to leave PKR after he had discussed with his supporters. He claimed his supporters also agreed for him to support the government of the day for the benefit and development of Lubok Antu.
Masing, who is a Deputy Chief Minister said Jugah’s move to PN and GPS was done in exercising his rights as enshrined under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.
“The questions we need to ask are these… Did he move to the right political organisation? What was the rationale of his move? Jugah had explained that he needed to move so that he would be in a better position to assist in developing Lubok Antu.
“It was based on this pledge, I believe, he stood as a candidate for Lubok Antu during GE14. Therefore, he remains true to his pledge of giving better life to his constituents if elected,” he said.
However, Masing insisted that former Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian and Sri Aman MP Masir Kujat joining Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), was a mistake because PSB had no real intentions nor agendas to developing the rural areas.
“PSB is in no position to assist anybody, except the party hoppers, as they don’t have any authority nor the resources to help the people of Sarawak.
“Being in PSB now and Dr Mahathir’s group was a bad move. He (Baru) should have maintained his support and stayed with Azmin’s group and remained useful to those who voted him in.
“The ‘intelligent frog’ that jumped to support Dr Mahathir at the last minute during the country’s political turmoil in late February, has jumped to the wrong pond,” he quipped.
