Sarawak DAP chairman Wong Ho Leng has expressed confidence that the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) will support Sarawak DAP's decision to quit from Barisan Alternatif at the state level.

Wong, the state assemblyman for Bukit Assek, said he believed that the DAP CEC, which meets regularly at its headquarters in Petaling Jaya, will respect the resolution made by Sarawak DAP. on Dec 10 to pull out from BA after a falling out with Keadilan.

The decision was reached following Keadilan's failure to give any explanation on the candidacy dispute in Bandar Kuching during the last general elections, and Keadilan's effort to lure DAP members to join Keadilan, Wong said.

DAP also paid a heavy price for teaming up with PAS, a coalition partner only in the peninsular, he added.

"The CEC understands the special situation faced by DAP Sarawak and I believe that they will allow us to quit from BA at the state-level," Wong said.

Up until now, Sarawak DAP has not met with Sarawak Keadilan to resolve their dispute, Wong added.

"Keadilan should show their sincerity in any discussions, we are open to talks," he told malaysiakini when asked if they would be willing to meet to discuss the problem.

Asked whether the pull-out will affect the cooperation between opposition parties in the coming Sarawak state elections, he said the effect would be a "minor issue". The BA in Sarawak also includes the State Reform Party (Star).

"However, we will examine the effects of the decision," Wong said.

Final decision

Meantime, DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock said in Melaka the Sarawak DAP withdrawal will be discussed during the DAP CEC meeting which is likely to be held next month.

In the run-up to the recent Lunas by-election, ties between DAP and Keadilan became strained because of a tussle over the BA candidacy for Lunas, resulting in many quarters within DAP asking the party to withdraw from the four-member coalition, which is just more than one year old.

DAP party leaders, which had met in Port Dickson on Dec 17, had decided to stay in BA, but deferred making a final decision on the resolution of Sarawak DAP.