TV PAKATAN RAKYAT

About 12,000 people in Sarawak, including 6,000 supporters of Ngemah state rep Gabriel Adit, have applied to join PKR.

Their application forms were submitted to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim at a huge dinner gathering in Sibu tonight which saw more than 4,000 people in attendance.

Also signing up with the opposition party is controversial former PRS Balleh division publicity chief, Beginda Minda.

He was forced to leave the state BN component party following his call on the chief minister and his deputy to step down.

Adit, 58, claimed that he had submitted the application forms for PKR membership from 6,000 of his supporters tonight.

The other 6,000 new applications were believed to be from former PRS members and non-party members.

In his speech, Adit, a four-term assemblyperson, told the crowd that the main reason for joining PKR was due to the “political castration” of the Dayaks under the BN state government.

He added that PKR was the best vehicle to address the plight of the Dayaks. Adit also declared that Anwar was the most suitable and acceptable leader to become prime minister.

“Enough is enough of BN. Now change is coming to Sarawak,” he said, adding that there are many BN members waiting to join PKR.

With Adit’s entry, PKR now has two seats in the Sarawak state assembly. The other is Dominique Ng representing Padungan.

Adit first won the Ngemeh seat on the now-defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak ticket in 1991 but in the 2006 state elections, he stood as an independent.

His entry is seen as a major boost for PKR which is gearing up for the next state polls, due in 30 months.