Mahathir, who is also PPBM chairman, said they felt only the party could protect their rights and understand their concerns about their livelihood.

“At the onset, we did not intend to go to Sarawak, but it (was based on) the request and insistence of the Sarawakians themselves.

“As such, we are aware that the Pribumis are still uncomfortable with their standard of living, their progress and their role in national politics.

“They feel only PPBM can fight for their rights,” he said when launching Sarawak PPBM at the Bintulu Civic Centre here tonight.

Mahathir said he was confident that PPBM, in cooperation with the other component parties of Pakatan Harapan in Sarawak, will change the existing state government in the next state election.

Mahathir who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, noted that previously, the people in the peninsula did not think Barisan Nasional (BN) could fall but in the 14th general election in May, the people rejected BN and chose PH.

Touching on the Sarawak budget for next year, he said the state had allocated RM11 billion for development, the highest amount when compared to other states.

Mahathir said this showed that Sarawak is wealthy and as a rich state, there should not be so many poor people in the state.

“The wealth should be shared with the people so that they could be rich too,” he said.