The long and protracted quarrel among leaders of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) has now led to the party ending up with two presidents after the apparent failure of its two rival factions to compromise on their struggle for leadership.

One faction at its own triennial delegates conference (TDC) in Bintulu this morning elected without any contest former information chief and state minister Dr James Masing as president and Sng Chee Hua as deputy president.

Dr Masing later told reporters waiting for the outcome of the closed-door meeting attended by about 2,000 delegates and observers from more than 150 branches throughout Sarawak that he would leave it to the Registrar of Societies to decide which of the elected group of officials they would recognise.

He also told malaysiakini by phone from Bintulu that he would accept whatever decision is made by the all-powerful ROS on the matter.

Installation ceremony

Masing said that the prospects for any reconciliation between the two faction was now almost "nil".

On July 11, Daniel Tajem was returned unopposed as president and his running-mate Joseph Salang was similarly returned as deputy president after branches linked to Masing were disqualified from the polls.

The party will hold a one-day TDC on July 26 at Kuching Santubong Resort. As all candidates for the various party posts, including president and deputy president posts, have been returned unopposed, there will be no election.

Tajem and the new office-bearers will be installed during the TDC for a three-year term.

The Masing-Sng faction had for days kept their own TDC a secret. They instead said that the Bintulu gathering would be part of their road-shows in major towns in Sarawak.

Malaysiakini

, however, reported the possibility of the Bintulu gathering being a rebel TDC after analysing public comments on Masing.

Today's TDC in Bintulu also elected three vice-presidents - Ulu Rajang member of parliament Billy Abit Joel, political secretary to the chief minister Wilfred Nissom and PBDS Miri division chief Richard Wil.

Two other vice-presidents - by virtue of their positions as youth and women section heads - are assistant minister in the Chief Minister's Office Joseph Entulu and Doris Brodie.

The treasurer-general is Kuching-based lawyer Clement Jamal Eddy, the secretary-general is Sri Aman member of parliament Jimmy Donald, and publicity chief is Assistant Tourism Minister Dublin Unting.

No surprise

According to several political observers, the latest development within the crisis-ridden Dayak-based party has not come as much of a surprise.

"Although the move seems to defy logic, as far as the Masing faction is concerned it has to come to that eventually since they are shut out of the party elections organised by the headquarters," one observer said.

The first immediate comment from the Tajem-Salang group came from vice-president Gabriel Adit who said the Masing faction's action was unconstitutional.

Adit, who is also the Ngemah state assemblyperson, this morning officiated at the combined triennial delegates conference of the party's youth and women sections.

One big question now is how the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition at state and federal levels will view the latest developments within one of their component parties, and which group will be invited to attend its meetings before the ROS makes a final decision on the matter.

Respond later

Although the latest development in Bintulu has tended to overshadow this weekend's TDC in Santubong, party officials said there would not be any change of plans.

"We will go ahead and hold the TDC as planned," one party official told malaysiakini, adding that former party leader Leo Moggie is expected to officiate at the opening of the TDC as well as attend a dinner the following night to celebrate his 25th anniversary in office as a minister at state and federal level.

Tajem told malaysiakini that the party's secretary-general Stanley Ajang would issue a press statement on his faction's reaction to the latest development.

Salang said the party would study the implications of the latest action by the Masing faction and would respond officially tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister and state BN chairperson Abdul Taib Mahmud was not immediately available for comment.

This morning, when the Masing group was holding their TDC in Bintulu, Taib launched the state-owned wafer foundry 1st Silicon's new corporate logo, and witness the signing of agreement between the company and one of its overseas customers.

Taib had declined to make any comment when asked by reporters about two weeks ago after Tajem and his group were returned unopposed.