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.
“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.
