Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) vice president Gabriel Adit has blasted at a rival faction supporting information chief Dr James Jemut Masing for the president'd post for labelling it as anti-government in

the heat of the campaign ahead of the party elections.

Adit, who is also Ngemah state assemblyperson and a newphew of incumbent party president Leo Moggie, said he was disappointed with the rival group's action in giving the anti-government tag to those not aligned

with Masing, the state social development and urbanisation minister.

He also asked the rival group not to drag leaders of other Barisan Nasional component parties into the

internal affairs of the party.

Adit is aligned with the group that has been urging Moggie, who is also Minister of Energy,Communications

and Multimedia, to stay o­n for another term as president.

If Moggie decides to stand down at the coming triennial delegates conference (TDC), they want deputy

president Daniel Tajem, a former deputy chief minister and former Malaysian envoy to New Zealand, as Moggie's successor and treasurer-general and Julau member of parliament Joseph Salang Gandum as deputy president.

One foot in, o­ne foot out

"Once too often we have been branded as anti-government," Adit was quoted today as saying by

the Sunday Tribune , a local English daily.

"One newspaper even carried a report of a political secretary reportedly accusing us of having o­ne foot in

the opposition and another in the government," he added.

Describing this as "very unfair," Adit asked: " Does it mean that the ordinary BN members are opposition

members as well because they don't hold any title or public office?"

In an apparent reference to Masing's recent statement that party members should elect a person who can work

closely with the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, Adit responded: "This is a very misleading line of

campaigning."

He explained: "Other members could easily misinterpret it as if other BN leaders are interfering in our internal affairs which we in the party do not believe."

Close with CM

He asked the aspiring candidates for any of the party posts to refrain from dragging other BN leaders in

their fight in order to gain political mileage.

Adit said Masing, as a state minister, should realise that it was o­nly expected of him to have a close

working relationship with the state leadership.

"He is our representative in the government after being recommended by our party. We are of course happy

to hear that he is close to the state leadership. He has to anyway," he added.

The Masing faction has nominated another party vice president Sng Chee Hua to contest the deputy presidency.