Thursday, December 1

SPDP is the latest victim?

KUCHING: Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat comprising DAP, PKR and PAS is keenly watching the latest political developments in the state - the crises in Sarawak United Peoples Party and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party as 11 parliamentary seats are at stake.

“This is because the two parties are getting weaker due to internal conflicts,” said See Chee How, vice-president of Sarawak PKR.

“SUPP and SPDP are the latest victims to fall prey to PBB’s ploy to weaken state BN in order for them to remain weak and dependent on PBB,” he said when asked to comment on the current political developments in the state.

“Both Baram and Mas Gading seats allocated to SPDP as well as its Saratok and Bintulu seats are now tough seats for BN,” he said.

Similarly SUPP’s allocation of seven parliamentary seats of Serian, Stampin, Bandar Kuching, Sibu, Lanang, Sarikei and Miri are weakened by the internal conflicts in the party.

Bandar Kuching and Sibu are already in the hands of DAP.

In their current political situations, both SUPP and SPDP are vulnerable to ‘aggressive’ attacks by Pakatan Rakyat in the coming general election.

SUPP for instance, almost all the 43 SUPP branches that held their meetings in the last week or so have one problem or another as the line is clearly drawn between the supporters of Peter Chin, Organising Secretary and Wong Sook Koh, Deputy Secretary General.

Chin and Wong are fighting one another for the party’s presidency in the coming triennial delegates’ assembly (TGA) scheduled from December 8 to 10, 2011.

SUPP has a two-tier system of electing their leaders.

The branch will elect 600 delegates to the TGA, who will in turn elect 133 central committee members. The CC members will in turn elect the principal office-bearers.

As electing delegates are extremely important, branch leaders have resorted to under hand tactics against each other in their bids to ensure who would be elected as delegates.

In branches known to be supporters of Chin, they were overzealous to find “irregularities and faults” with those who are supporting Wong.

Similarly branches supporting Wong have also tried to find ‘problems' against Chin’s supporters.

In Sibu, Dudong branch revival committee tried to stop the Sibu branch under the chairmanship of Wong from holding the branch meeting by resorting to court injunction, but the Sibu branch successfully fought against the injunction.

In Kanowit, there was almost a fist fight between supporters of the two leaders. Troubles also occurred in branch elections in Sarikei, Kuching, Miri, and Lundu.

What Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat sees in SUPP is that it may not be able to recover from the internal bickering when the next general election is held no matter whoever wins the presidential race.

As for SPDP, the sacking of Entri from SPDP and the dropping of the three-term MP Tiki Lafe from contesting the Mas Gading seat, both of whom are members of RENTAP (formerly known as SPDP 5), are not only worsening the crisis in the party, but are certain also to have some bearing in the Mas Gading and Baram parliamentary seats.

Even its Saratok and Bintulu seats are shaky.

Whoever is going to be nominated in the Mas Gading seat is going to have a tough time trying to win over Tiki’s staunch supporters.

In the event of a straight fight between the candidates of BN-SPDP and Pakatan Rakyat, both sides have an equal opportunity to win.

Assuming there will be a three-cornered fight with Tiki representing RENTAP, a SPDP candidate and PR candidate, the BN leadership may adopt a formula first used to solve claims over constituencies between Sarawak National Party and Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (both members of BN) in the 1983 state election.

The formula will allow SPDP and RENTAP to have a free for all in the four parliamentary constituencies. The BN leadership in the midst of the election may have to choose who has a better chance to win: SPDP or RENTAP.

In the case of the 1983 state election, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud declared his full support for PBDS’ candidates and accused SNAP as the ‘enemy number one’.

SNAP was the biggest loser.

In the Baram parliamentary constituency, SPDP’s Jacob Sagan has been named to be the candidate to defend it. Judging by the hot issues concerning the construction of the proposed Baram dam, which the Kayan, Kenyah and Penan communities are strongly against it, Sagan may have some problems with the 13, 623 voters in the Telang Usan, a part of the Baram constituency.

Previously, he defended so much from 13,093 voters from the Marudi constituency to win big. About 90% of them are Iban voters.

But now the Marudi voters who are Entri’s strong supporters are against Sagan who is aligned to President William Mawan Ikom.

In last month’s function, Mawan and Sagan needed the help of Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to be able to visit Ulu Teru in Marudi where the Iban voters were trying to stop them from ‘disturbing’ the longhouse residents.

At Rumah Ela in Selulit, Tinjar, Marudi, last Saturday, more than 2,000 people including 88 longhouse chiefs and councillors have expressed their strong support for Entri.

Also present were other RENTAP members – Peter Nansian, Tasik Biru assemblyman, Paulus Gumbang, Batu Danau assemblyman and Rosey Yunus, Bekenu assemblywoman. Tiki Lafe was unable to attend as he had a function Bau.

Condemning Mawan for sacking Entri, Councillor Kalang Kimie said: “Our Marudi assemblyman stood and won on a BN ticket, and his sacking is a show of total disrespect to the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and the mandate of the people.

“Sacking the party’s elected representative who had won with the biggest majority in the last election and acting against the others is tantamount to a hidden agenda. Every political party wants to have as many YBs as possible, now throwing them out would weaken the party,”
he said.

SPDP’s two other allocated parliamentary seats, Saratok and Bintulu, are also tough seats if the crisis in the party persists.

The incumbents are Jelaing Mersat, (Saratok) and Tiong King Sing, (Bintulu) who are in Mawan’s camp and they too have been named to defend their seats.

“If the results of the last state election are of any indication, Saratok and Bintulu are in deep trouble,” said a political observer.

The Krian seat which is the other half of the Saratok parliamentary seat has been won by Ali Biju of PKR with a big majority. The other half is Kalaka seat.

In Bintulu, Tiong’s position is also precarious. The combination of the majorities (6,477)) obtained by BN in Jepak and Kemena are far less than the majority of 6,930 votes obtained by DAP in Kidurong.

As See, the Batu Lintang assemblyman said: “The Pakatan Rakyat is keenly watching what is happening in SUPP and SPDP.

“We expect to gain by their conflicts,”
he said.

8 comments:

Apai irau said...

Some people said Sylvester Enteri and the group will vanish from politics .I do not think so,firstly,powerful hidden hands are helping them,and secondly,to kill 5 elected reps at one time would be detrimental to BN.As such,Taib will come out with a formula to acommodate them.One thing for sure,SPDP will get weakened.Once their leaders split,their supporters will inevitably follow suit.SNAP was sicked and still sick today partly due to Mawan's action and alas,he is suffering from his misdeed towards a party that raised him to power.

pelacur politikus said...

hope John Antau from PKR and Stanley Jugol ,a SNAP man will stand in Saratok .Both are greedy opportunist cartoons.John Antau will repeat his fate,losing again.Jugol,whom recently accumulated all his family members to become office bearers in SNAP will lose his deposit.He wanted to be SNAP President,his 'besan'Kebing Wan to be retained as Deputy President,his son Dayrel as Vice President.His daughter now heads SNAP Wanita and his other son Collin is now a Pemuda Snap Vice. Now can you see what Jugol family wants,make SNAP as a family business party,waiting for a chance to strike a jackpot.From reliable sources,Jugol and his group had ,in numerous ocassions,acted against SNAP Constitution which might lead to another deregistration.

Jambu Batu said...

Kitai Dayak,lebih agi kitai Iban ke nyadi tuai-tuai parti politik sigi rindu dikena Taib ngereja pangan diri.Ke bendar,tuai-tuai parti tu nemu diri di kena PBB lalu nemu mega pemedis ti ka datai ngagai parti diri,tang laban dengki,juluk ati ti klalu tinggi, lalu ngumbai diri berani sereta deka be-ambi ulih ba pangan diri ketegal di umpan engau projek engau duit,dia deh pangan diri di kemelakang ka lalu parti enda di peduli ke agi.PBB nemu SNAP deka charut enti betuai ke China nya alai DA Dunstan Endawie di anjung nyadi High commissioner ke Australia.SNAP charut lalu ada PBDS.Udah PBDS kering,Masing di umpan PBB lalu di sukong engau duit di asoh ngelaban tuai-tuai PBDS,udah nya charut parti pan mati.SPDP pan sama,YB ke enda rindu ke Mawan di asoh lalu di sukong ngelaban Mawan,penyarut pan nyadi. Ia ke bendar,tuai-tuai parti ke di sebut tadi nemu diri di kena PBB ngelembut ke parti lalu ngelembut ka bansa Dayak,tang laban pengerangka deka ngisi poket diri empu,bansa diri enda di ke-ingat ka agi.Ba sida tu,politik nya kereja ngelabuh ke bansa diri ,ukai begempung ngadu ka bansa diri.

Sri Belalang said...

That is the standard of Dayak Political Party. The leaders are quarrelsome and self interest and unwilling to compromise. The reality is that Dayak leaders are used as tools by a famous "outsider" who wanted to see of the splitting Dayaks. Past events proved this.

Anonymous said...

Like it has been often said that one reaps what one sow SPDP will get its own medicine that it used to "kill" SNAP with. Eventually SPDP will be wiped out. But I don't think this is the works of any outside forces. Those SPDP leaders, all of them, are greedy lot. Now of course all sides of the conflict are vying for the good book of the Chief Minister. And this fits in the desired shceme of things: to deflect any focus on CM and PBB. CM has stayed too long in power and has all along been ensuring that the Dayaks peoples remain poor so that whoever YBs after elected on BN ticket would be needing a lot of money to service their constituencies. Hence they would be beholden to PBB leaders. Maybe if the masses will vote non-BN parties in the coming general election, for once, things can be righted, perhaps?

Anonymous said...

we dayaks are the descendent of apai saloi, so it is nothing new that we are manipulated and twisted around. the dayaks ministers or dayaks representatives are having the real blood of apai saloi. the only manage to cheat their own people only.

Anonymous said...

The most recent "no way to Tiki" statement by Tan Sri Mawan in respect of BN_SPDP candidate in Mas Gading is indeed very curious. One, Tiki is aligned with Nansen, ADUN of Tasik Biru, one of Group of 5 opposed to Mawan. In the contest for Mas Gading Parliamentary constituency surely ADUN of Tasik Biru, Nansen, who is an Assistant Minister in Taib's Cabinet will play significant role. Given that hs is in Group of 5 and openly supporting Tiki, Mawan's statement as above is rather unfortunately misleading.

Two, a show-cause letter has been mentioned to have been sent to Nansen inasmuch as Entri had been sacked from SPDP. The latter has of late established a BN Committee headed by himself. Thereby Marudi and Baram areas are now part of his BN domain. He will be anti-Mawan. So Mawan as president of SPDP, BN component will not get any Entri-BN's support. That poses a very serious challenge to Jacob Sagan of SPDP BN, would't it.

The same scenario will play out in Mas Gading. Anybody appointed by Mawan to defend SPDP-BN in Mas Gading will be opposed by Nansen.

In the above scenarios it is pretty obvious Mawan is zero factor to say "no way Tiki". He cannot implement his intention indeed.

And unfortunately Mawan cannot be doing what PRS had done with Larry Sng. Of course it also had a disastrous result in Pelagus despite the party was able to exclude Larry Sng from contesting there. For Mawan to remove all in the group of 5 it means he will have to remove 4 ADUN in SPDP. That will leave him alone to man the fort. Surely very untenable situation!.

Maybe the saga of Datuk Endawie of SNAP who was appointed High Commissioner to New Zealand can be a way out for Tan Sri Mawan rather than for him to stay and to see SPDP will be wiped out in the coming G.E. 13.

Anek Uren

Anonymous said...

It is wrong to imply by "SPDP is the latest victim" title that some sinister divisive action being the works of some higher-up person(s) in the BN leadership is the cause of present SPDP internal squabble. There is no evidence for this,and beside it is an unfair implication.

The internal trouble in SPDP is all "domestic" actually if reading from the various differing statements from the various factions to the squabble is accurate. However there is more urgent need to find solution amicable to all sides in, that's the priority, rather than to dwell on finding who is the causer of it all. Of course this too rests very much on the parties in the bickering themselves for them to sort out. Or if that is what they think best for the future of SPDP, or for themselves?

One thing is sure without an earlier solution the outcome for GE13 for SPDP-BN will be forgone. In the run-up to it, Mawan, a party president, has no power to annoint anyone as a candidate, especially to replace a "rebel" incumbent as has been shown in the case of Dr. Tiki in Mas Gading constituency. His lack of power also is shown in how he handled the case of Entri. The latter now building his BN domain in Baram is an open defiance of Mawan/SPDP that had just sacked him.