A campaign within Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), a ruling Sarawak Barisan Nasional component party now saddled with a leadership crisis, is underway in earnest to get party president Leo Moggie to stay in an effort to avert the possiblity of the party going the same way as the now-defunct Sarawak National Party (Snap).

A total of what a pro-Moggie faction's press statement described as 61 duly accredited branches from Julau, Betong, Saratok, Sarikei, Meradong and Sibu held a special assembly at Rumah Dayak, Saratok, about 240 km from Kuching, today to urge Moggie, the federal Minister of Energy, Telecommuncations and Multimedia, to remain for at least another term and for his deputy Daniel Tajem to remain in his present position.

"It is necessary for Moggie and Tajem to remain in their present positions in order to continue their excellent services to the party, the state and country," said the statement faxed to malaysiakini on behalf of the group by party leader Paul Kadang.

"By remaining in their present positions, they will also help ensure a smooth succession of the party

leadership at a later date."

March 15 meeting

The special assembly was held amid reports that another faction supporting party information chief Dr James Masing, the state minister of social development and urbanisation, for the president's post and party vice president Sng Chee Hua for the deputy president's post are now all out to grab the two top posts in the forthcoming triennial delegates conference (TDC) scheduled the earliest by September this year or the latest by February next year.

The date is likely to be announced after the party's supreme council meeting to be chaired by Moggie in Marudi o­n March 15. Observers are debating whether or not most of the pro-Masing/Sng supreme council members will stay away from the meeting.

The statement said that should Moggie decide not to change his mind about stepping down at the coming TDC, representatives to the assembly resolved that Tajem be nominated instead as candidate for president and party treasurer-general and member of parliament for Julau Joseph Sallang as candidate for deputy president.

"Having witnessed in dismay and/or read in the newspapers of a series of so-called meetings, where a number of purported and controversial claims of support have been given to a certain faction in PBDS in recent weeks, it is our considered position that it would be best if we as branch leaders and branches could be left to ourselves to conduct our annual general meetings (AGMs) in the manner and procedures as instructed by the secretary-general of PBDS," the statement continued.

Circus atmosphere

"We urge those responsible for agitating or campaigning to branch leaders and contributing to the rather circus atmosphere to cease forthwith from doing so in order that our local political leaders may discharge their duties in good order, without fear or favour."

The statement went o­n:"We condemn the apparent usage of money politics and other promises of rewards (such as appointments) as inducement for political support."

"As far as monetary donations to the party are concerned, we recommend that they channelled them through the party headquarters in Kuching and not to or through any prospective delegate at the branch level."

The statement added: "We fully condemn racism, chauvinism and reverse-chauvinism. As far as we are concerned, these are non-issues at this time."

Capable leaders

"We know that we shall elect truly capable leaders who are honest, hard-working, truthful and morally upstanding without prejudice to their ethnic background."

The branch leaders condemned what they called "those who invent the issues of racism and chauvinism at this time in the hope of manipulating party members and delegates for their own narrow and devious aims."

Meanwhile, Kadang told malaysiakini that o­n record, PBDS has a total of 268 branches. This figure is at variance with that often quoted by the pro-Masing PBDS Youth leader Joseph Entulu, who is also an assistant minister in the Chief Minister's Office. Entulu has claimed that the total number of party branches is o­nly 206.

Today's assembly at Saratok represents about 25 per cent of the party's total number of branches at present, according to Kadang.