He said the route for the former BN parties to befriend Pakatan Harapan (PH) might be tough, as the PH parties were unlikely to take them in due to past enmity.

“By forming a Sarawakian coalition, they (the former BN parties) are trying to preempt PH from taking over Sarawak in the next state election,” Chow said when asked to comment on the latest development in Sarawak.

Today, four Sarawak-based parties – Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Parti Demokratik Progresif (PDP) – left the state BN coalition, effectively rendering BN non-existent.

The four parties have formed a new coalition called Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

BN won the last Sarawak state polls in 2016 with a whopping 72 out of 82 state seats. BN also retained a majority of parliamentary seats in the recent general election, winning 19 out of 31 seats.

“In the coming state polls, I believe there will be a realignment of political forces in Sarawak. I believe they are preparing their ground to be aligned to PH,” Chow said.

“But our PH parties in Sarawak have very strong views on receiving BN-based parties into PH, simply because they have been fighting each other for such a long time.

“We leave it to our counterparts in Sarawak to address this issue. The national leadership will be keeping a close watch on the events there.”

On May 16, PBB dismissed rumours it would join PH but said it would be part of a “united coalition of Sarawak-based parties” to champion more autonomy for the state.

This followed Sarawak governor Abdul Taib Mahmud’s meeting with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his close aide, Daim Zainuddin.