Tajem: Mess may force delay of PBDS polls

comments     Tony Thien     Published     Updated

The leadership tussle in Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) - o­ne of the component parties in the state's four-member coalition - is likely to drag o­n until early next year

In an interview yesterday, deputy president Daniel Tajem said it is unlikely that party elections will be held in August, indicating that the earliest that the triennial delegates conference will be held would be at the end of the year.

"It may even be held early next year," the presidential aspirant told reporters at his house. "There are so many things to clear first before the TDC could be held."

He said the party waited for the full three-year term to be completed before holding the 1994 and 1997 conferences.

The past conferences, which saw a keen contest for the No 2 post between Tajem and Dr James Jemut Masing, then an elected vice-president, was held three months short of the full three-year term.

Tajem has now teamed up with party treasurer-general and Julau member of Parliament Joseph Salang Gandum to contest the president and deputy president posts respectively.

They will face Masing who has announced he is going for broke along with his running mate Sng Chee Hua, o­ne of the party's five vice-presidents.

Incumbent president Leo Moggie will not be seeking re-election.

'Conflict of interest

'

Among the "mess" that Tajem as chairperson of the party's political affairs committee is trying to sort out is the verification of party branches.

According to him, the party's constitution was amended at the last conference and approved by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) o­n Feb 2, 2001 with a provision that o­nly branches registered with the registrar could send delegates to vote at party elections.

He clarified that what the party's supreme council meeting in Saratok o­n Aug 24, 2002 decided was, as an interim measure, to stop further branches from being set up from that date.

In other words, o­nly branches existing up to that date, including those that had to be activated

or regularised, would be eligible to send delegates to the TDC if they were registered with the ROS.

Tajem said his committee had so far verified 234 branches, of which 156 branches had "truly held their annual general meetings" to-date in accordance with proper procedures.

He said he was least perturbed by an allegation of a conflict of interest as he is a prospective candidate for the top post, and at the same time chairperson of the political affairs committee.

"What I am doing is all legally right and according to stipulated rules," he said in reply to a question.

Tajem said he had been informed by party secretary-general Stanley Ajang that the ROS office in

Kuching had informed him of annual returns submitted directly to the ROS without going through the party headquarters and without the appropriate forms being counter-signed by the secretary-general.

The ROS office had asked the party to send its official to collect the branches' annual

returns back.

According to both Tajem and PBDS executive secretary Henry Lian, the party headquarters would not go and collect these annual returns of the branches "because we have not submitted any branches annual returns to the ROS office."

"It is o­nly appropriate that those who submitted the annual returns of branches should go and collect them," said Tajem.

Malaysiakini understands that the Assistant Registrar of Societies Wan Mohammad bin Wan Ahmad had requested that the annual returns of branches be submitted through the party headquarters accompanied by Form 9 countersigned by the secretary-general to his office.

"We have a proper administrative system in the party and this has to be followed in accordance with normal practice," added Tajem.

The deputy president said he had consulted Moggie and the latter had agreed that the date for the next TDC would not be in the agenda for this month's supreme council meeting.

"It is still too premature to decide o­n the date," he said. He reiterated that time was also needed to clear the "mess". "We don't want to heap confusion upon confusion."

'Comedy of errors'

Commenting o­n the move by several PBDS Youth leaders to retrieve o­ne box containing the annual returns from some 50 party branches from the party headquarters yesterday morning, Tajem likened the incident to the Shakespearean play The Comedy of Errors .

"It is possible that they realised some mistakes had been made in the annual returns," he said, referring to the group which included PBDS Youth deputy leader Christopher Nyuak, secretary Edward Minggu Leo Donald.

Tajem described their action as tantamount to stealing since they were not given permission by the

custodian - the secretary-general - in whose hands the property had been placed.

"I have directed the party headquarters staff to put the rest of the boxes sent to the party headquarters, sealed and locked and tied with a ribbon by the Masing faction at the end of last month in the strongroom," he added.

Tajem said he has already made up his mind about standing for the president's post.

According to him, this decision was based o­n certain principles that were connected with the reasons why the party was formed in the first place - as a forum to articulate and voice Dayak hopes and aspirations within the larger picture of the Barisan Nasional.

"To me it is not a contest between personalities," he said, adding, "Winning or losing is o­ne thing. But even more important is that the whole thing must be done legally too."



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