Sarawaks Snap at odds with its Bintulu MP over botched election promise
If the Iban-based Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) appear to be trying to get rid of their president Leo Moggie, the multiracial Sarawak National Party (Snap), another Barisan Nasional component party, looks likely to kick its Bintulu member of Parliament and former treasurer-general Tiong King Sing out, too.
Tiong, a Foochow timber businessman, caused much celebration within Snap and BN camps when, in spite of speculation to the contrary, he managed to pull off a personal triumph in the face of a strong challenge from DAP strongman in Bintulu, Chiew Chu Sing, in the 1999 parliamentary elections.
But like fortunes which change as quickly as they come, he now finds himself in serious trouble with his party s story
This week, however, Tiong told reporters his side of the story.
He was quoted as saying by the English-language daily The Sarawak Tribune : I've heard that the contractor had sued the party over the project and now the party leaders are putting the blame on me by alleging that I had agreed to contribute financially to the project.
He had also claimed that Snap secretary-general Justin Jinggut was aware of the arrangement for financing the project and they had gone together to meet the TV3 managing director.
According to the Bintulu MP, TV3, Snap and the Prime Minister's Department had agreed to come up with RM1.5 million each for the project.
TV3 had agreed to the arrangement, he claimed, to fulfill its social obligations, despite its earlier reluctance due to the costliness of the project and that it would not generate revenue.
Tiong said even party president James Wong Kim Min officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony of the project during the election campaign to reflect the party's obligation to the people of Bintulu constituency.
During the campaign I only spoke for less than three minutes in all my speeches and that can be verified by the Snap director of operations Peter Nyarok (the assistant minister of tourism) for Bintulu constituency, lamented Tiong.
He added that during his term as the party's treasurer-general the party had no funds for the project. And when the matter was referred to the secretary-general, Tiong had made several attempts to meet with him to discuss the TV3 issue, but was always turned down at the last minute.
Rude to party president
When he met the media this week, the Snap MP also questioned the party leadership on why no similar action was being taken against several senior party leaders who he claimed were responsible for the party's defeat in the Meluan state constituency in the last state elections if it is strict on discipline.
Malaysiakini understands that the issue involving the recalcitrant MP went deeper than most party leaders were prepared to acknowledge publicly.
In one of the CEC meetings when the issue was raised, one party leader said Tiong was extremely rude in the presence of the party president and former state minister Wong.
He banged the table when addressing the president, he said.
There has also been talk that Tiong with the support of several party leaders has been contemplating challenging Wong for the party presidency in the next triennial delegates conference next year.
This led party leaders to issue statements, declaring their support for the continued leadership of Wong, who himself had said recently that although he had stepped down as state minister he had no immediate plans to step down from his post as party president.
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