Sarawak reps put in a spot if fielded as direct BN candidates, say sources

Incumbents from the two Sarawak pro-Barisan Nasional parties could find themselves in a quandary if they are picked as direct candidates to defend their seats in the next state elections, sources in the state BN say. A source said if the incumbents from the United People's Party (UPP) and Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) were picked as direct BN candidates, one of the conditions was that they would have resign from their party. UPP and Teras are splinters of the BN parties, Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), respectively. "And if they win, they only have the option of joining any one of the four parties that make up the state BN – Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), SUPP and SPDP. They cannot re-join their original party," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It's not logical nor politically correct for them to be a member of a non-BN party to contest as a BN candidate," said the source. In such a scenario, UPP president, the state's Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, and Teras president Tan Sri William Mawan, could be in a spot if they were picked to defend their seats. Wong, who formed UPP after losing the fight for the SUPP presidency in 2011 and assemblyman for Bawang Assan, which he has represented since 1991, could be forced to do the unthinkable – give up his presidency. Mawan, the state's social development minister and assemblyman for Pakan, a seat he has held since 1991, could be forced to do likewise. When Wong split from SUPP, all of its six assemblymen – Ranum Mina (Opar), Datuk Dr Jerip Susil (Bengoh), Datuk Francis Harden Hollis (Simanggang), Johnicol Rayong (Engkilili) and Datuk Lee Kim Shin (Senadin) – followed him. However, Harden and Lee later returned to SUPP. In a similar situation, five of SPDP's assemblymen quit the party in February last year to join Mawan in Teras. Mawan quit SPDP as he was reportedly facing censure for accepting expelled members back without the supreme council's endorsement. The six Teras assemblymen are deputy president Datuk Peter Nansian Ngusie (Tasik Biru), Wong Judat (Meluan), Assistant Minister of Early Childhood Education and Community Development Rosey Yunus (Bekenu), Assistant Minister of Public Utilities and Assistant Minister of Agriculture Datuk Sylvester Entri (Marudi), Paulus Palu Gumbang (Batu Danau) and Mawan in Pakan. Judat resigned from the party in 2013 to contest in the general election. He later joined the small Sarawak People's Party (SWP). Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem said recently he was toying the idea of fielding BN direct candidates in seats fought over by SUPP, SPDP and their splinter parties UPP and Teras. BN fielding "direct candidates" is not new. In the 1990 general election, deputy natural resources and environment minister Datuk James Dawos Mamit contested as a direct BN candidate in Mambong and won. Five-term MP Datuk Billy Abit Joo did likewise in Hulu Rajang in the same elections, which he, too, won. Dawos later opted to join PBB, while Abit chose PRS. – February 20, 2016.]]>