Former Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian and his supporters may join Parti Sarawak Bersatu, according to a PKR branch leader.
However, an announcement had yet to be made in regard to the matter, said Stampin PKR secretary Desmond Kho.
Kho was aligned to Baru before the latter quit the party during the country’s political crisis in February. He told FMT that it appeared that PKR was undergoing a transition period and had departed from the agenda of justice for all.
The party now appeared to be “in full pursuit of one man’s agenda to be the prime minister”, he said, making a veiled reference to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
Kho said PKR’s aspirations had been to bring about “reformasi” through justice and equality. Those who felt that the party no longer serves their original aspirations would be free to pursue their ideals on a different platform, he said.
It was reported last Thursday that PSB president Wong Soon Koh said he welcomed Baru and his supporters to join his party.
As SR has previously reported, Baru Bian has told allies he plans to wait on announcing his defection to PSB. It is understood it is planned to coordinate with others, including defectors from the GPS coalition parties.
Some of the former PKR leader’s supporters have responded by accusing SR of ‘rumour-mongering’ and lies for reporting on the matter, but now it appears his known allies are laying the path for just such an announcement.
Desmond Kho has explained that the entire manoeuvring is based on Baru’s superior principles. PKR ‘lost its way’, allegedly, for continuing to abide by its election manifesto agreement that the majority party leader, Anwar Ibrahim, ought to succeed as PM. The principled Baru, on the other hand, had joined up with the would-be usurper Azmin Ali, who wanted to upturn that commitment and become PM instead.
In the end Azmin used Sarawak PKR’s support to prop up a backdoor coup by PKR’s corrupted opponents, UMNO, PAS and GPS. Baru Bian resisted joining the UMNO/PAS/GPS coalition, but unless he is prepared to come out and deny he plans the move to PSB, he now has to explain why he is joining a party funded by Taib cronies and linked to former SUPP and BN/GPS politicians?
As his former colleagues in PKR have challenged, if his principles are so pure why not start a pure new party?
After all, Baru and his supporters have publicly stated that it is not true that he and his allies are tempted by political possibilities opened by the deep pockets of the timber barons who plan to use PSB to help Taib undermine the existing leadership of GPS.