Abang Johari assures Sarawakians young GPS leaders trained to take over in future

KUCHING, Oct 21 — Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg today said that it is up to the people of Sarawak to decide if they want Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to remain in power in the state.

“How long can this coalition sustain? The answer is up to all of us,” he said at a town hall session held at the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) in Kuala Lumpur.

“We (the present leaders) are already old, but we have young leaders waiting to take over.

“I feel that GPS can sustain as long as it has the support of the people,” Abang Johari said.

He was answering a question from one of the students attending the session which was attended by Sarawakians residing and studying in Peninsular Malaysia, who wanted to know if GPS could remain in power for a long time and if there were young leaders ready to take over.

“We in GPS have made a decision that the coalition is a vessel that can protect our rights,” he said, stressing that leaders come and go.

“Today, I am the leader and before me, it was Tok Nan (former chief minister the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem who died in early 2017). Before Tok Nan, it was Tun Taib Mahmud,” Abang Johari said.

He said GPS has groomed young leaders who can take over the helm when the present leaders step down.

“As it is, GPS is strong even to the extent that it was consulted on the appointment of the prime minister when no parties or coalitions won enough parliamentary seats to form the federal government after the 2022 federal election,” he said.

GPS was formed after four parties — Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) — pulled out of the Barisan Nasional following its defeat in the 2018 general election.

In the 2021 state election, it won 76 out of 82 state seats up for grabs.