Sarawak Progressive Democrative Party (SPDP) vice-president and Marudi state assemblyperson Sylvester Entri was today sacked from the party for alleged insubordination while the door remained open for four other senior leaders, its president William Mawan said today.

He said the four, including senior vice-president and Tasik Biru assemblyperson Peter Nansian, vice-president and Mas Gading MP Dr Tiki Lafe, information chief and Batu Danau assemblyperson Paulus Palu Gumbang and another supreme council member and Bekenu assemblyperson Rosey Yunus, however, were technically no longer office-bearers.

“Today is the saddest day of my political career, after due process and consultation with the supreme council, with deep regret, I announce that Entri is no longer a member of SPDP, with immediate effect but the seat (Marudi) remains with the party,” Mawan, who is also state Social Development Minister, told reporters after chairing a three-hour supreme council meeting at the party’s headquarters in Kuching.

The fate of the five estranged leaders, dubbed the “SPDP Five” was among the agenda discussed besides the party’s preparation for the  forthcoming general election, including the role its youth and puteri wings to organise engagement forums for the voters.

The supreme council also decided that Dr Tiki would not be renominated to contest in Mas Gading  because he was not the most winnable candidate and, for which, a new list of several winnable ones would be presented to the respective state and federal Barisan Nasional (BN) chairperson in due course, he said.

Mawan said Entri and his group had continously distanced themselves from the party by not attending supreme council meetings and made sustained attacks against him, challenging and ridiculing his leadership through one press statement after another.

By publicly declaring that the show-cause letter issued by the party’s disciplinary board to him was no longer relevant and by ignoring the party’s constitutional process, he had effectivelty chosen to burn his bridges with the party, he said.

“These acts have created unnecessary tensions and anxiety among our party members and can even threaten the existence of our party,” he said, adding that as a multiracial democratic party, SPDP was guided by the principles and guidelines prescribed under its constitution, which also governed the conduct of its members.  

Asked if he was in a dilemma to take action against Entri, he said: “It was not the unity of the grassroot that compelled me but the time had come (we feel that there is no end to this)... I am not doing it out of personal feelings or personal grudges but a sense of responsibility.”

‘Having the quality to be the next president’

Describing Entri as “having the quality to be the next party president”, Manwan said the former had also been groomed by him to take over the helm from the current leaders one day.    

On the status of Entri’s ministerial position as state Assistant Minister for Water Supply as well as Agriculture (farmers organisations), he said it was the prerogative of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, who is also state BN chairperson.

However, the SPDP chief said he would reject outright any move by Entri to join or be accepted by another Sarawak BN component party as it was unprecedented.

Citing the previous case of a former Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) leader Larry Sng, who was also sacked from his party for insubordination, he said the BN had a code of conduct, which meant that a new political party formed within a group would still be considered outside of the coalition.

In the interest of the BN and the upcoming general election, he had considered the sad episode closed and the party, whose immediate agenda was towards a focused and united effort to ensure BN victory, needed to move on, said Mawan.

“In this connection, I like to apologise to our state and federal BN leaders and ask for their patience and understanding and to bear with us,” he added.

- Bernama