Sarawak PH chairman Chong Chieng Jen is rejecting any attempts by state BN parties to join the new government en bloc. — Picture by Sulok Tawie

KUCHING, May 11 — Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Chong Chieng Jen is rejecting any attempts by state Barisan Nasional (BN) parties to join the new government en bloc.

He appears unaware of a meeting between Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin and Sarawak Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, asserting that it was based on unconfirmed sources.

“Regardless, it is our Sarawak Pakatan Harapan’s stand that we will not accept any of the Sarawak BN parties joining us, which includes Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB),” he said in a statement.

“Accepting PBB into Pakatan is akin to Umno joining Pakatan at the national level.”

Parti Rakyat Sarawak president Tan Sri James Masing told Malay Mail earlier that Taib had informed him of the meeting with the two leaders.

While he did not divulge what had transpired at the meeting, he said that if the state BN parties were to join PH, they would have to do it together.

Chong, meanwhile, argued that they had fought so hard against a corrupt regime, and PH now had the opportunity to bring those responsible to book for misdeeds in Sarawak.

“It will be absurd to allow these Sarawak BN parties to join PH and thereby, whitewashing all the corruption that has been committed by them.

“Our party has fought so hard along the lines of integrity and our supporters have supported us through the difficult times in the low ebb in the history of our party’s struggles because they believe in our integrity,” he said.

“On that count, we cannot and will not accept the Sarawak Barisan Nasional, especially PBB, into the fold of Sarawak Pakatan Harapan.”

On the individual members of BN hopping over, the state DAP chairman said they would be accepted subject to vetting by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

PBB is the backbone party of the state. The other state BN parties are PRS, Sarawak United People’s Party and Progressive Democratic Party.

The state BN won 19 out of 31 seats in Wednesday’s polls, but in the state legislative assembly, it occupies 71 of 82 seats.

State BN chairman Datuk Abang Johari Openg, who is chief minister and PBB president, had said that while the state government will be an Opposition government, it hoped to work with the PH government.