The Sarawak People's Aspiration Party (, abbreviated ASPIRASI) is a centre-left political party based in
Sarawak
Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...
, Malaysia, renamed and rebranded from their former organisation faction, State Reform Party abbreviated as STAR.
Background and party establishment history
File:State Reform Party Flag.svg, State Reform Party original logo (1996-2020)
The party began as the ''State Reform Party'' (STAR) in the 1990s founded by Patau Rubis, using a 9-pointed star derived from the
state flag as its logo. The party contested in the
2016 state elections under the STAR logo, failing to win a single seat.
The State Reform Party's policy will ensure the party always struggle as a significant pressure group on demanding recognition of Sarawak rights together with many other
non-governmental organisation
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
s (NGOs). The Party demands that the
Government of Sarawak have to reform the state government system and go out from the available comfort zone. As a pro-Sarawakian independence party, it aims to table Sarawak Independence Referendum Ordinance in event it won seat in the
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly.
The party leadership history
Patau Rubis is the first ASPIRASI president, on that time also known as STAR Party or State Reform Party ''(before rebranded)''. He died in 2016, after collapsed while presiding the STAR Sarawak's
Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 20 March and was replaced by Lina Soo. Beside the President Lina Soo, the party AGM later had also elected a new committee including Bulin anak Ribos as chairman on 12 October 2017. After the leadership changed to Lina Soo faction, they agreed to rebranding STAR as ASPIRASI including the logo to avoid people confusion with the
STAR Sabah organisation in July 28, 2020.
The party expansion and separation history
In 2012, STAR also expanded to neighbouring
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
with setting of the state chapter led by
Jeffrey Kitingan, who had also initiated the
United Borneo Alliance (UBA), in its effort to switch to a Borneo-based regional party uniting all local parties in Sabah and Sarawak to promote jointly the 7 Borneo Agendas.
In 2016 Kitingan re-registered the Sabah chapter as a new Sabah-based party,
Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) but retained the
backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
''STAR'', leaving the original State Reform Party back as Sarawak-based. In 2016 STAR Sabah rebranded itself as the
Homeland Solidarity Party (with acronym STAR) and STAR Sarawak rebranded itself as the Sarawak People's Aspiration Party (with acronym ASPIRASI).
Rebranding as ASPIRASI
The party rebranded as ''Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak'' or ''ASPIRASI'' in February 2020 and unveiled a new logo based on
Rajah Brooke's birdwing butterfly in December 2021,
a week before the
2021 Sarawak state election.
File:Trogonoptera brookiana 0588.JPG, The Rajah Brooke Birdwing
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List of presidents
* Patau Rubis (1996-2016)
* Lina Soo (2016–present)
Candidates in the Sarawak state elections
*
State Reform Party candidates, 2016 Sarawak state election
General election results
State election results
References
External links
*
*
{{Portal bar, Malaysia, Politics
Political parties in Sarawak
Political parties established in 1996
1996 establishments in Malaysia
Multiracialist parties in Malaysia