Between SPDP (Sarawak Peoples Democratic Party) and PRS (Party Rakyat Sarawak), the latter has a bigger problem where the president James Masing and his deputy Sng Chee Hua have been locking horns since they formed the party following the demise of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) in October 2004.

Masing ( right ) has been described as a "puppet" president having no say in the affairs of the party, while Sng not only calls the shots, but also controls about two thirds of the supreme council members. At one of the supreme council meetings, Sng wanted to pass a vote of no confidence on Masing if the latter failed to heed the council's voice.

The existence of two headquarters in Kuching is a clear indication of the seriousness of the leadership crisis in the party. In Kapit, there are also two PRS service centers, one to cater for Pelagus and Larry Sng - assistant minister and son of the deputy president - and the other for Baleh and Masing.

Deep mistrust

There is really a deep mistrust between the two factions. Larry accuses Masing's supporters of ruining his chance of retaining the Pelagus seat, because he believes that they are working with Simon Sibat, a Malaysian Dayak Congress (MDC) candidate, who is using Snap's (Sarawak National Party) symbol in the election.

Similarly there are also allegations by Masing's supporters against Larry and Sng senior that the father and son team are sponsoring a candidate to contest against Masing.

Power struggle is also being extended to the Balai Ringin constituency, where Sng who is the chairman of the election selection committee wants his own man, Snowdan Lawan, to contest in the newly created seat. But Masing prefers a lady, Lantak Amin.

Sng wins the nomination for his man. This "victory" angers Lantak's supporters. Now the latest that we hear is that Lantak's supporters have declared their support for Cobbold John Lusoi, an

independent candidate aligned to the MDC.

Although Masing has "lost" the seat to the man supported by Sng, Masing's men, however, have "won" the nominations in the Bukit Begunan, Batang Air, Ngemah and Tamin constituencies.

Sng has publicly expressed his dislike for Mong Dagang (Bukit Begunan), Dublin Unting (Batang Air) and John Sikie (Kakus) and he wanted them replaced with his own men.

As for Ngemah seat, Sng has picked Warren Aris as a candidate. Instead, Masing's Alexander Vincent was nominated. The disagreement over candidates has further worsened the crisis in the party.

The trouble in PRS began when business went to the president and his men only. Sng had hoped to get business deals from the state through Masing who always described himself as very "close" to the chief minister.

To pacify Sng, It is believed that Masing agreed that Sng be given a big area of land in Pelagus

and Baleh, but he has to surmount numerous problems as most of the areas are NCR land and the landowners are not ready to part with their land.

The granting of the land can be a double-edged sword for Larry, the incumbent state assemblyman for Pelagus.

The internal discord in the 18-month old PRS really worries the state Barisan Nasional (BN).

Disgruntled voices

Only SPDP has the least problems. The only dissatisfaction, perhaps, can come from the supporters of Gabriel Adit and Stanley Ajang, who were lured to join the party with the promise to defend their seats - Ngemah and Belaga respectively. They had been partyless after PBDS was de-registered. Naturally they and their supporters are deeply disappointed.

There are voices of discontent in Bekenu and Batu Danau with the party's choices of candidates. But these disgruntled voices are nothing compared to those in SUPP and PRS.

With all these problems, the state BN is going to the polls. But the question is:

Can the opposition Barisan Bersatu Sarawak (BBS) comprising Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Snap, MDC and DAP take full advantage of this?

The state BN may appear weak but they have the logistics and political juggernauts behind them: they have the civil service right from the state secretary to the Tuai Rumah (longhouse

headmen) and Ketua kampong (village heads), the financial resources and government agencies.

BBS must do their homework and plan their strategy.

Although opposition parties lack the financial resources and logistics, one thing is certain: they go to the polls solidly united. The fact that the majority of seats having straight fights is a clear indication of their cooperation. Such cooperation has never existed in previous elections.

It is, however, up to the voters to make a choice.

Sarawak BN aflutter over spats (Part 1)

JOSEPH TAWIE was the former Press Liaison Officer of the Sarawak Police. He

is the protem Information Chief of the yet to be registered Malaysian Dayak

Congress.