PDP president urges members to prepare, anticipate PSB inclusion in near future

Tiong (centre) in a photo with members and attendees at the PDP Pre-Christmas and New Year 2024 celebration in Sibu recently. Photo credit: Dato' Seri Tiong King Sing （拿督斯里张庆信）Facebook

KUCHING, Dec 26: Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) members have been urged to prepare to accept Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), who will join the party in the near future and work together for the better development of Sarawak.

Acknowledging the inevitable criticisms both parties may face, PDP president Dato Sri Tiong King Sing stressed the importance of concentrating on delivering the best services to the people.

“Do your best and strive to improve the well-being of the people in Sarawak,” he said in a post on his social media yesterday (Dec 25).

Tiong, who is also Dudong assemblyman and Bintulu member of Parliament, highlighted this when addressing the PDP Pre-Christmas and New Year 2024 celebration at a hotel in Sibu on Christmas Eve (Dec 24).

The Federal Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture also reminded Sarawakians, particularly those in rural villages and longhouses, to refrain from adopting the practices of a certain political party known for religious extremism and disrespect towards the cultures of other races and religions.

He called upon longhouse residents, village chieftains, and community leaders to bolster the spirit of unity and focus on educating people about the importance of mutual respect.
“In the spirit of democracy, no one minority group would be fully aligned or agree 100 per cent with majority groups’ opinions, especially from a group of religious and racial extremists,” he said.

Tiong advocated for respecting diverse perspectives to preserve a harmonious societal atmosphere.

National unity, he emphasised, is an important treasure for Malaysia, without which there will be no stability, and people will continue to fight all the time, which would not benefit the community.

He reminded disunity has caused conflict in some countries, which has triggered wars and resulted in people dying and living in fear.

“Thankfully, we can gather together in harmony today, regardless of religions, races, and backgrounds,” he added.

Yesterday, PSB deputy president Dr Johnical Rayong Ngipa revealed that party president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh had informed him that the party is expected to be disbanded before the Chinese New Year celebration after its members, totalling about 800,000, get the ‘green light’ to join the PDP en-block.

Rayong added that PSB will refer to the Registrar of Societies (ROS) on the procedure for the dissolution and call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to dissolve the party, while PDP will also hold an EGM to accept the former PSB members into the party.

When asked about the development later, Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg asserted that he was not aware of the claim that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) has given the ‘green light’ for its component PDP to merge with PSB. — DayakDaily