Party rebels to reconvene aborted national council meeting

comments     Tony Thien     Published     Updated

Sarawak National Party's (Snap) internal crisis took a new twist today with opponents of party president James Wong Kim Min calling on members to attend a national council meeting — the party's highest decision-making body — this Sunday in Kuching.

This represents a crucial part of the 'unfinished business' of the group of nine elected representatives clamouring for Wong to quit his party post, following the aborted national council on June 9 that was stopped by the president and his supporters with a court injunction.

However, the court injunction was lifted on appeal a week later.

"The failure of the president and the secretary-general [Justine Jinggut] to defend their cases in court on June 14 [when the injunction was set aside]...will enable the group to continue with the national council meeting...on June 23," according to Snap deputy president Peter Tinggom, who is also leader of the party's rebel faction, in a signed press statement today.

It added that the meeting would be held at the Regency Rajah Court Hotel in Pending, Kuching.

The convening of the meeting, according to the statement, "is in line with the decision made during the CEC [central executive council] meeting chaired by the acting president Peter Tinggom on May 29 at the Snap headquarters".

The statement added that after the court had set aside the injunction, party members from most of the Snap divisions throughout Sarawak wanted the national council meeting to proceed 'without any further delay'.

"We believe and affirm our stance that the national council is one of the best domestic remedies to resolve the current crises facing the party," it added.

"Since the CEC at executive level is the source of the problem and cannot solve the current problems of the party, we have made it clear to all Snap members that only the members can solve the internal party problems.

"Those who fear to face the members during the forthcoming national council are trying to escape from reality."

Dragging their feet

The rebel group went on to accuse Wong and his supporters of dragging their feet in trying to resolve the party's crisis "in order to suit their own personal interests or hidden agenda".

"Let us do not leave it to 'nature to take its course' to solve the party problems. Snap members must be pro-active to solve party problems."

The group added: "We have informed all the delegates, including the president and secretary-general, officially and accordingly to attend the meeting", the statement added.

According to political observers, the latest development is believed to be a pre-emptive move to forestall Wong's announcement that a CEC meeting would be held next week to resolve the bitter party squabbles.

Wong has invited all CEC members, including his opponents, to come together to resolve their differences at the meeting.

Although initial reaction to the CEC meeting appeared positive, it is now clear that the president's detractors never had any intention to attend the meeting.

"They've already burned the bridges after their mass walkout from the April 20 CEC meeting," one senior SNAP leader said.

It is believed that Wong has the numbers within the party's CEC, but not the national council since the rebel group has managed to get endorsement from two-thirds of the present divisional heads to support their cause.

"Wong is well aware of this, which is why he would not agree even to hold the party's triennial delegates meeting earlier. He is playing for time to try and re-build his support at the divisional level," the same leader said.

Embattled leader

There has been no official reaction from the embattled Snap president to the latest development.

Wong has just returned from Kuala Lumpur after attending the Umno general assembly, but a senior CEC member told malaysiakini that Wong is expected to issue a statement to condemn the rebel group's move to call a national council meeting "as it is illegal since the president is already back in the country".

The aging party chief was away for over a month to seek medical attention in Australia and it was during his absence that his rivals made a number of moves, including the convening of a national council meeting, to oust him.

"It [the national council meeting] is all calculated to embarrass him further and to force him and the secretary-general to step down immediately," he said.



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