PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said any group aiming to overthrow the unity government can no longer depend on the support of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
Anwar said Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg had yesterday revealed to him that there were "desperate attempts" by several quarters to influence him.
"(Abang Johari) shared how he had rebuffed attempts to sway Sarawak from supporting the federal government.
"He informed me of several desperate attempts by some quarters to influence him, but he has been consistently and firmly turning them down.
"He said he would not entertain any discussion on driving a wedge between the state and federal government.
"GPS's stances are critical in today's political scenario because a change (of government) can only be done with the backing of GPS and GRS," Anwar said.
Anwar said this during a "no holds barred" dialogue with senior editors from the country's electronic, print and online media.
The session, held at the Kompleks Seri Perdana here, featured journalists from various publications nationwide including Sabah and Sarawak.
For more than an hour, Anwar fielded a host of hard-hitting questions, ranging from the country's economics projection for next year, the unity government's relations with Umno heading into the 16th General Election, his relationship with the incoming agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and others.
Anwar said changes were made possible due to the firm stance of Sarawak's GPS and Sabah's GRS which he said was critical, given the current political scenario.
Any 'tebuk atap' (backdoor) attempts to install a new government, he said, will only have basis if given the opportunity by the two states.
Anwar added that Abang Johari wished to close this episode altogether and thus, such a possibility has been rendered void.