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MIRI – Sarawak PKR called on the Election Commission (EC) to remove all “unjust practices” against opposition parties before the 15th general election (GE15) – such as those imposed on them during the recently concluded Sarawak election.
State PKR vice-chairman Dr Michael Teo Yu Keng said the party today held a post-mortem on the polls and found the need to speak out loudly against the one-sided treatment levelled against the opposition during the election.
Speaking to The Vibes, he said PKR leaders, during the online meeting, had expressed the need to meet the EC officials at both state and national levels soon.
“What happened during the state election is a very crucial lesson that we in the opposition must make sure does not happen in the next general election.
“During the state election, we in the opposition in Sarawak were banned from openly talking to the rakyat while Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) politicians were openly holding big gatherings with voters.
“During the state election, we found GPS using the state’s financial and material resources to attract voters.
“There was massive use of money.
GPS had access to every location while we in the opposition were barred due to the many SOPs.
“GPS had unlimited access to all the government propaganda broadcast machinery while we cannot reach out to voters en masse.
“If all these unfair practices are allowed to continue, we in the opposition will be smashed out in GE15.
“While we accept that the 12th state election is over and that GPS has won big, we cannot just allow all these unfair practices to continue into GE15 or else, we will face the same unfairness in the parliamentary elections,” he said.
Dr Teo, who is also Miri MP, said PKR Sarawak leaders are trying to fix a meeting with the EC as soon as possible.
The state PKR leadership council, in the meantime, said the party will continue its reformasi agenda in Sarawak despite its defeat in all the 28 state constituencies it contested during the polls.
“We will monitor the performance of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak state government from outside of the state assembly.
“Our reformasi agenda against corruption and injustice continues.
“We will pursue our agenda of equality for all races and fair distribution of wealth in Sarawak,” the council said in a press statement today. – The Vibes, January 4, 2022