SIBU: State Reform Party (Star) will be contesting in at least three seats in the general election.
This will be the first time the party will be contesting in the parliamentary polls.
It contested in the 2016 state election in nine seats.
All its candidates garnered less than 10% of the total votes cast then.
When contacted, Star secretary-general Simon Tiong said they had been actively preparing for the 14th general election and plan to field a candidate each in Kuching, Sibu and Miri.
However, Tiong declined to reveal the candidates, saying they would only do so when the time is right.
With the party joining in the fray, three-cornered fights are expected as DAP and SUPP will be fielding candidates in these urban seats too.
“As we are new, we are not focusing on how many votes we get. Instead, we want to spread the word on our manifesto,” he said.
Their GE14 manifesto will be similar to the one used in the 2016 state election.
Although Tiong acknowledged their chances of winning are remote, he said it would allow Star to continue raising the issue of Sarawak’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“Our core business is the MA63.
“When we first brought up the subject before the 2016 state election, people said we were dreaming.
“Now everyone is talking about it,” he added.
To a question, Tiong said Star was willing to work with any Sarawak-based party.
“We can work with any Sarawak party but not those from peninsular Malaysia as we are fighting for state rights under MA63.”