Seven minor parties form new coalition to challenge Barisan

Seven minor parties form new coalition to challenge Barisan

As preparations begin for the next general election, seven parties from Sabah, Sarawak and the Peninsula form an alliance and apply to be registered as a coalition.

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PETALING JAYA:
Six minor political parties in Sabah and Sarawak and one from the Peninsula are reported to be linking up in an alliance to offer a challenge to the dominant Barisan Nasional.

The formation of the new alliance, expected to be called Gabungan Rakyat Saksama or Saksama for short, comes as preparations begin for the next general election, which must be called by July 2018.

Saksama will comprise the Sarawak Reform Party (STAR), Parti Sejahtera Angkatan Perpaduan Sabah, Pertubuhan Perpaduan Rakyat Kebangsaan Sabah, Malaysia United People’s Party, Parti Kebangsaan Sabah, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak and the peninsular People’s Alternative Party.

Sarawak Reform Party president Lina Soo announced the new alliance at a press conference in Kuching, according to The Star Online.

She said the coalition was being set up because of the failure of Opposition parties to pose a stiff challenge to Barisan Nasional, adding the Pakatan Harapan alliance was now fragmented and breaking apart.

Soo said it was MUPP president Philip Among who had initiated the new coalition last month. More parties are expected to join them.

She added that the group had filed an application with the Registrar of Societies to formally register the coalition as a political pact.

“We will be an alternative political force to Barisan Nasional,” she was quoted as saying.

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