Less than two years after it formation, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) is facing a serious leadership crisis that has left the party's future uncertain, especially with Sarawakians going to the polls soon.

Leaders in two factions, one led by president Dr James Masing and the other by his deputy Sng Chee Hua, have openly acknowledged the crisis in the 18-month-old party.

(The two were formerly allies in Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak [ photo ], which went through a protracted leadership crisis of its own.)

The problems are so serious that PRS now even has two headquarters - in Green Heights Commercial Centre near Kuching International Airport and in Pending in Kuching City.

The Green Heights office is only a stone's throw from the old office. Secretary-general Sidi Munan, who is aligned to Sng, and three other staff operate from there.

It was Masing's idea to set up the other office. A supporter claimed that this office houses the party headquarters, while the one in Green Heights is for the use of branches, including the Kuching branch.

Munan told malaysiakini that Sng had consulted feng shui experts who said the Pending office was "not suitable".

He also said he was not involved in the negotiations and that he had refused to sign the tenancy agreement when asked to do so.

A circular was sent out to supreme council members, with the majority favouring the Green Heights office, which cost only about RM40,000 to renovate compared to RM200,000 for the Pending office.

PRS was formed on Oct 21, 2004, the same day that PBDS was de-registered for the second and final time. Three MPs and six state assemblypersons from PBDS joined PRS.

The remaining three MPs and two state assemblypersons remained partyless for a time. All but two MPs - Deputy Foreign Minister Joseph Salang and Jawah Gerang (Lubok Antu) - later joined Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party, a component of the state Barisan Nasional coalition.

Start of problems

According to informed sources, the Masing-Sng troubles started brewing about a year ago when most business favours for the party were said to go to the pro-Masing group.

Masing's problems with his deputy were compounded by the fact that he does not actually control the party, even though most of the elected representatives are with him. Sng controls 23 of the 33 members in the supreme council.

There is also disagreement over the choice of candidates for a number of seats in the forthcoming state elections, expected to be held next month.

Sng recently accused his president of ngasut (the Iban word for 'instigating') a senior PBB leader to get a candidate from the yet-to-be-registered Malaysian Dayak Congress to stay away from his (Masing's) Balleh constituency and to contest instead in Pelagus.

The Pelagus state seat is held by Larry Sng, the 24-year-old state assistant minister and son of the PRS deputy president.

Both Masing and the PBB leader, also a prominent community leader, have denied Sng's allegation.

This is not helping either PRS or BN as the opposition is exploiting the situation to the fullest.

The Pelagus incumbent could lose if the bickering continues, unless Chief Minister and state BN chairperson Abdul Taib Mahmud intervenes to get them to work together.

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini's Sarawak-based stringer.