The four component parties of Sarawak BN, led by PBB, are set to exit the coalition and set up their own, despite denials by several leaders.

PBB leaders who spoke to Malaysiakini on the condition of anonymity believe that the matter has been decided and that the announcement on the exit after a Sarawak BN supreme council meeting next week will just be a mere formality.

They reveal that the option for the parties in Sarawak BN to quit the coalition was laid out even before the May 9 polls in the scenario Pakatan Harapan won the election.

"The exit plan has been an option right before the elections and the component party leaders were given some time to discuss the matter with their respective parties before deciding.

"It has been a month since BN's disastrous defeat and the leadership is seen to be slow in making their next move in order to maintain order in the state coalition. There is no other choice but to leave BN," a PBB leader told Malaysiakini on the condition of anonymity.

It has been a status quo for the Sarawak BN government led by Abang Johari Openg for the past month despite talk of leaving the BN coalition to form a Sarawak-based coalition between PBB, SUPP, the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).

The PBB leader also mentioned that the recent suit filed by Petronas on Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974 was possibly a way to test the waters in Sarawak. "The move on the PDA is possibly a way to test Abang Johari's response and when Parliament convenes next month, things may change.

Meanwhile, Sarawak deputy chief minister and PRS president James Masing (above) declined to comment further on the issue of quitting the coalition.

"What is next for Sarawak will be discussed on June 12. Until the meeting, I will not preempt what are our decision will be," Masing said to Malaysiakini in a text message.

Sarawak BN's fate had changed dramatically over the past two years.

In the 2016 state elections, the coalition led by the late-Adenan Satem, won a landslide victory taking nearly 90 percent of the state seats with 72 out of 82 seats.

However, in the May 9 general election this year the state BN lost six of the parliament seats it previously held, winning only 19 federal seats in total. This was the worst general election results for Sarawak BN.

PBB may suffer Umno's fate

The PBB leader who spoke on the condition of anonymity and who is also an assemblyperson, meanwhile, said he felt that his party may suffer the same fate as Umno if it does not change.

"If this (inaction) continues, it will be similar to Umno where members tried to speak up. But the top leadership of PBB is seen trying to axe the members and everyone is 'tunggu bos la' (waiting for orders from their superiors). This is what Umno has been practising so far.

"At the last PBB convention and party elections, no contests for the top leadership posts were held. This is not a healthy practice [...] this is similar to Umno because you don't give members a chance to speak their minds.

A PBB youth leader said he shared the same sentiment as the assemblyperson.

"The members are very disappointed with the leadership. For members like me, we don't tell the world that we are disappointed but when these things happen, it is the party that is affected," said the PBB youth leader.

"The youth have been voicing out to the leadership but there is not a single response from them till today. When we voice it out to them, they either keep it to themselves or there no further action. 'Sik lalik lah' ('don't care' in Sarawak Malay) and 'lantak lah' (not bothered)."

Another BN-friendly party, the United People's Party (UPP), a splinter party from SUPP, acknowledges that BN is no longer acceptable by Sarawakians.

George Lo, UPP secretary-general told Malaysiakini that it is very likely the four state parties would leave BN.

"We need to find out a little bit more. At this stage, there is no formal decision to quit BN although it is widely reported by the media. We believe that it is inevitable that the four Sarawak BN component parties will leave BN.

Lo, however, described the four component parties leaving BN akin to putting old wine into a new bottle adding there was an option for them to be more inclusive and invite other parties to join them.

"As far as we are concerned, we will keep our options open. We will see what happens after June 12 and wait for further announcements."