KUCHING: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg today cautioned component parties against causing disruptions and emphasised the importance of adhering to the framework upon which the coalition was established in 2018.
He said they must not underwrite or underscore each other or fight among themselves, as this will weaken the coalition.
"(You want to) fight, you fight with people outside GPS," Abang Johari, who is also the Sarawak premier, said at the closing of Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) triennial delegates conference (TDC) here.
He said the four component parties—Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), SUPP, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP)—must treat each other as friends and work as a team.
Abang Johari said PBB and SUPP are like family members since they formed a coalition government in 1970.
He said only the "heads" of the two parties have changed, but they remain friends until today.
"In the past, it was Tan Sri Dr George Chan who was SUPP president, this time it is Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.
"(The late) Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud was PBB president, but I'm now the one who is leading PBB," he said.
Abang Johari said he would not know who would succeed him as PBB president, but "PBB will always be SUPP's friend".
He said it is the responsibility of the component parties to groom the second echelon leaders when the time comes.
However, he warned against any jockeying for positions in the process.
"You know, the weakness of a party; the moment you fight for position, it is the start of the downfall of that party," he said.
He said PBB has remained strong and united because its leaders and members work as a team, instead of fighting for positions.
"When Taib picked Pehin Seri Adenan Satem as his successor as chief minister in 2014, I gave my support, although I was then the party's deputy president," he said, adding that his loyalty to the party remained unquestionable.
Abang Johari said Taib asked him to be the next chief minister after Adenan passed away in 2017.
"In the Sarawak Cabinet, we work as a team andwhen we decide on policies, we decide it collectively," he said.
Abang Johari congratulated SUPP for having a smooth TDC.
"With this kind of strength and comradeship shown by the party leaders and members, GPS will maintain, if not win more seats, in the next state election," he said.
GPS won 76 out of 82 state seats in the last election.