Stakan SUPP chairman Sim Kiang Chiok said Sarawak DAP previously assured voters that they had no ambition to hold federal executive positions, choosing instead to remain as backbenchers to build public trust and distinguish themselves from the party’s Peninsular leadership, The Borneo Post reported.

“Yet in 2025, that promise has been conveniently discarded. The appointment of a Sarawak DAP MP as a deputy minister is a clear and undeniable U-turn.

“This is not an administrative coincidence – it contradicts what was promised to Sarawakians,” he said.

Tuesday’s Cabinet reshuffle saw Sarawak DAP vice-chairman and Mas Gading MP Mordi Bimol appointed as deputy youth and sports minister.

Sim said the move should prompt voters to reassess the party’s credibility, adding that it reflected a broader pattern of unfulfilled pledges.

After the unity government was formed in 2022, Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen assured the public that all Sarawak DAP MPs would play the role of backbenchers in the Dewan Rakyat.

In an Astro Awani report, the Stampin MP had also insisted that the posts of ministers and deputy ministers from the party were not its main agenda, regardless of whether at the federal or state level.

“The main thing right now is that DAP and Pakatan Harapan are the main bloc at the federal level,” Chong had said.

“We (Sarawak DAP) will take on the role of providing checks and balances in Parliament, as well as ensuring that the principles of transparency and good governance are implemented by the ministries and government agencies.”