Snap presidents son says father ready for any challenge
It looks like the dye has been cast in the factional feud within the Sarawak National Party (Snap), a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in Sarawak.
Today, its senior vice president Richard Wong has virtually ruled out any compromise, indicating his father, party president James Wong Kim Min, is ready for any challenge at next February's party elections.
A faction led by William Mawan, a vice president and minister of environment and public health, who is supported by four other state assemblymen and three members of parliament from the party, has been calling for the president's immediate resignation, saying he has over-stayed and citing unhappiness at the way he and his supporters have been running the party.
The party is embroiled in a legal suit which if it fails to challenge could threaten its very existence, after a writ of seizure and sale was issued by the Miri High Court for failure to settle a judgment sum to a Bintulu contractor for work already done but not paid.
Things came to a head when the party's central executive committee chaired by James Wong sacked the member of parliament for Bintulu and party treasurer, Tiong King Sing, the man in the heart of the legal suit issue, for alleged breach of party discipline.
Responding to numerous statements made within the past week by Mawan through the media, the younger Wong, who is the state assemblyperson for Limbang, described Mawan's behaviour as that of a leader with impatience and anxiety.
He added that had Mawan exercised patience, there would likely be a smooth transition at next year's triennial general meeting, as Wong the party president had indicated he would step down during the meeting.
"My father had indicated his desire to retire and step down during the meeting,"he was quoted today as saying in The Sarawak Tribune .
Angered party members
By their action in persistently making statements calling on the president to step down, the Limbang assemblyperson said, they had angered many party members.
He doubted the Mawan group had the support of the majority of party divisions, saying that many of those said to be representing the 48 divisions did not even hold key posts.
He claimed that many of those who attended the Sibu gathering were not even aware at first of any motion asking the president to step down and were shocked to find out about it later.
However, Richard said he believed the whole issue could be resolved after his father returns from Australia where he is seeing doctors on a knee problem.
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