KUCHING: Sarawak Barisan Nasional parties are “proxies” of Umno and should not be allowed to join Pakatan Harapan, said state PKR chief Baru Bian (pic).

Accepting any Sarawak Barisan component into the Pakatan fold will be seen as betraying the trust of voters, he added.

If there is such an approach by PBB or other state Barisan parties to join Pakatan, Baru expressed hope that Pakatan leaders at the national level will discuss the matter with leaders of its component partners in Sarawak.

“For us in Parti Keadilan Rakyat, welcoming any Barisan parties into Pakatan Harapan should not be considered,” Baru said in a statement on Saturday.

He added that the top leadership of Sarawak Pakatan has discussed the matter and are united in their objection to PBB or other Sarawak Barisan components joining Pakatan.

Anticipating such a scenario, Baru said he has also written to PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Pakatan secretariat chief Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah on Sarawak Pakatan's stand on the acceptance of any Barisan parties into the coalition.

“Our leaders at the national-level fully understand our reservation about PBB, which is a proxy to Umno in Sarawak.

“Barisan leaders constantly ridicule our struggles in the state, especially regarding native customary land rights (NCR) issues and human rights violation by the state authorities.

“They also mocked and snubbed our leaders, as well as the Pakatan manifesto. We should question their motive in wanting to join the Pakatan government,” Baru said.

State Parti Amanah Negara chairman Mohamad Fidzuan Zaidi urged Pakatan supporters to remain calm on rumours that Sarawak Barisan is planning to join the new government coalition.

He advised the people to put their trust in Pakatan leaders to settle this matter amicably.

“We believe our new Prime Minister will not make a decision without consulting other leaders. As Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, we are not seeking revenge but to uphold justice,” he said.

Talk had been rife that Dr Mahathir, who was newly sworn in as Prime Minister, had met with Sarawak Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud on the possibility of Sarawak Barisan joining Pakatan.

“If we fail to see the sign and signals, people will end up getting angry at us – if the rumour is true that (Sarawak Governor) Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud met up with Tun Mahathir in a hurry.

“Nevertheless, Amanah wholly rejects any admittance of PBB or other Barisan parties into the state Pakatan coalition,” he added.