GE13 WATCH While questions have been raised as to whether Sarawak continues to remain a ‘fixed deposit state' for BN, there is no doubt that the ruling coalition's component parties in the rich Borneo state must quickly resolve their internal problems ahead of the 13th general election.

Of the 57 parliamentary seats in East Malaysia, the BN parties in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan contributed 55 seats in the 2008 general election, while the BN secured 85 parliamentary seats in the peninsula, with Pakatan Rakyat taking the other 80 seats.

azlan In Sarawak, BN lost only one constituency - Bandar Kuching - out of 31 parliamentary seats in 2008, and later another seat, Sibu, in the May 2010 by-election.

But since the last general election, the four BN members - Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) - are embroiled in their own internal problems.

According to PBB supreme council member Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, within PBB there are leaders aiming for the top party post ever since its president and Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud  announced his plan to retire, though he indicated no date.

The other three BN component parties, Wan Junaidi noted, have their own internal problems.

"It is not because the opposition parties are strong, but that the ruling parties have internal problems," he said in a telephone interview when asked about voter support for the BN in his state as GE13 nears.

However, Wan Junaidi maintained Sarawak would remain BN's fixed deposit, despite the challenges, though he expects tough fights for the urban seats.

Chin vs Wong in SUPP

For Chinese-based SUPP, having lost 13 out of the 19 state seats it battled in the 2011 Sarawak state election, it faces uphill battles in winning back all the seven parliamentary seats it has traditionally held.

Further, an ongoing rift between party president Peter Chin Fah Kui and Sibu chief Wong Soon Koh deepened after Wong defied the party's instruction that its Chinese assemplypersons do not join the state cabinet because the party lost Chinese votes in the 2011 election.

Chin's faction wanted to sack Wong, while Wong's team went on to challenge the validity of the SUPP annual general assembly and the party elections of 2011 that his group boycotted.

NONE However, both Chin and Wong ( right ) have said that they would set aside their differences, if only for the intention of focusing on the coming federal election.

If one takes a simplistic look at SUPP's chances by the total number of votes it received in the last state election - that there is the possibility that in the coming fight for the parliamentary constituencies, SUPP could well lose another four seats it has traditionally held - Stampin, Lanang, Miri and Sarikei.

The other parliamentary seat it holds is Serian. SUPP lost Bandar Kuching in the 12th general election and it also lost Sibu in a by-election in 2010, after incumbent MP Robert Lau Hoi Chew died.

Moreover, Chin's decision not to contest for his Miri in GE13 is seen as not helping to boost the party's flagging spirit.

Three-cornered fights in PRS seats

azlan Dayak-based PRS too is expected to have a tough time facing GE13, for the Sarawak Workers Party (SWP), a new party set up by sacked PRS leaders Sng Chee Hua and his son Larry Sng, has vowed to contest in all the six parliamentary seats PRS holds.

These seats - Sri Aman, Lubok Antu, Julau, Kanowit, Selangau and Hulu Rajang - are mainly Dayak-majority seats.

A self-proclaimed BN-friendly party, SWP was initially reported as wanting to field its team as ‘BN direct candidates', but it later decided to contest under its own banner.

Prime Minister and BN chairman Najib has rejected SWP as a BN-friendly party since it plans to contest in seats held by the ruling coalition.

larry sng "PRS is underperforming in the six seats it holds," Larry Sng ( right ) said in explaining SWP's decision to go for the PRS seats, adding that his party was confident "in winning a few seats at least".

"We define ourselves as a BN-friendly party, as we will only contest in the seats held by PRS. After we offer the six seats that we are going to win, Najib will surely accept us into BN," he said when contacted.

The former Pelagus state assemblyperson was said to be Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud's blue-eyed boy, having once held three assistant minister portfolios under Taib, after he was expelled from PRS and became a party-less representative.

SWP has named two candidates, Meluan assemblyperson Wong Judat and Pelagus assemblyperson George Lagong, as candidates for the Julau and Hulu Rajang constituencies respectively.

Wong Judat was formerly a vice-president of SPDP - which along with PRS is a breakaway party of the deregistrated Sarawak National Party (Snap). Judat contested the 2011 state election under the SPDP ticket, while George Lagong was the only independent candidate to win in that election.

NONE However, PRS vice-president Joseph Salang Gandum ( left ), who is also federal deputy minister for information, communications and culture, is unfazed by the "all out" threat from the SWP.

Joseph Salang, who is the current Julau MP, said his party was confident of retaining all its parliamentary seats.

It is yet to be seen whether SWP's influence will be able to move beyond Julau, where Sng Chee Hua was the MP before Joseph Salang.

Meanwhile, SPDP faces its own set of problems after sacked leader and Mas Gading MP Tiki Lafe expressed his wish to be retained as the BN's direct candidate, a method preferred by him and four other state assemblypersons sacked by the party.

SPDP has recommended that the deputy general manager of Salcra, Anthony Nogeh Gumbek, replaces Tiki.

According to media reports, the local community members have initiated a petition calling on the BN to continue to field Tiki as the Mas Gading parliamentary candidate.

Asked about this development, SPDP treasurer and Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing said curtly, "The problem is manageable."

Efforts to topple Taib?

As for PBB, speculation has been rife that a few leaders are eyeing - and have even launched their battles - for the party's top post after Taib said, repeatedly in recent years, that he intends "to retire".

Deputy Chief Minister and PBB deputy president Alfred Jabu Numpang has been touted as Taib's successor, if Taib chooses to retire before the next state election, which is only due in 2016.

Sarawak's Second Resources Planning and Environment Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hassan has been reported by whistleblower blog Sarawak Report as planning to topple Taib by exerting control over the state representatives, winning over the number two position in the next party election and removing Taib from the state cabinet after that.

Housing Minister Abang Johari Abang Openg and Special Functions Minister in the Chief Minister's Office Adenan Satem are both said to aiming for the top party post as well.

parliament opposition mps dispute najib budget 051108 wan junaidi Wan Junaidi ( left ) conceded that "there may be some people ambitious enough to be whatever they want to be. This can't be avoided. Succession is always an issue in any party, even in family businesses.

"But then, in PBB, our strength lies in our unity," Wan Junaidi told Malaysiakini , denying reports of efforts to topple Taib.

Stories of a bitter group turning against the party and the party leader will never take place in the PBB, he said.

"This is interesting about PBB: you can't break a community that is small into a smaller group. It's not easy to break us," he added.

In fact, similar speculation circulated during the last Sarawak state election and despite this, PBB won all the 35 seats it contested.

azlan In the 2008 parliamentary election, PBB contested 14 seats. It took three seats - Lawas, Kapit and Igan - without contest and won all the other 11 seats.

Asked whether Taib's retirement could attract a swing against the BN, Wan Junaidi said allegations of corruption the opposition raised against the chief minister were a "long shot" and nobody could prove them.

The various scandals focused on Taib and his family were made an issue in the last state election and in the Sibu by-election as well, he said, adding that the issues against Taib are "non-issue in the coming general election".

"It's up to him to decide when he wants to retire," he said when asked whether Taib should come up with his retirement timetable.

However, Wan Junaidi confidently added: "PBB will retain all its seats in the coming parliamentary election."

KOW GAH CHIE is a member of the Malaysiakini team.