The party should also be able to win back the State seats it lost in the last State election in the future.

Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud expressed the optimism here yesterday.

Taib, who is State Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman said no member of the BN would be left alone to face the opposition in the coming election and this included SUPP.

“We want to see the BN help SUPP recover from its present predicament and win back lost seats and grounds,” he said when opening Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party’s (SPDP) 5th annual general assembly at the Civic Centre here.

Taib, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) president, stressed that the BN must continue to be a strong and united force, adding that it meant every member must be given all the help to gain lost momentum.

He said a strong BN should win by more than a two-third majority in the coming election.

The Chief Minister pointed out that the ‘politics of power sharing’ as practised by the BN had proven to be effective not only in uniting the different races but had also made governing the country a shared responsibility of all Malaysians.

Taib said ‘politics of power sharing’ came about after a series of manifestos undertaking to unite Malaysias and build a peaceful and competitive Malaysia from the time of the Alliance.

He said since then many members of the coalition, now known as the BN, had to write rough political waves and had come out stronger than before.

“Loyalty (to component members) is strong in the BN today. This strong BN image is about practical approaches where we forget about personal interests, individual party, internal rivalry, but worked in a unified force.

“The BN works to strengthen every component member and that is why the BN is strong, which means we will win by more than a two-third majority in the next election,” Taib stressed.

The State BN consists of PBB, SUPP, SPDP and the fractious Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).

PRS is currently facing a leadership crisis. It has two presidents and two sets of supreme councils.