Ghosts of elections past are evoked in Sarawak as state coalition members urge Barisan Nasional's leaders to resolve a long-running dispute over TV3 access before it becomes a hot election issue once again.

In a letter sent to malaysiakini , a number of individuals signing off as "concerned Bintulu BN members" called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud to stop opposition parties from exploiting the matter in future elections.

"To ensure the opposition parties stop harping on the TV3 issue once and for all, may we humbly request the (leaders) to look into ways to resolve it immediately. Prove to Bintulu constituents and Sarawakians that the BN is responsible, efficient and trustworthy," said the BN members.

"With (Satellite broadcaster) Astro around, TV3 may not be relevant to middle- and upper-income groups but thousands of kampung and long-house folks are simply too poor to subscribe to Astro - TV3 programmes will continue to remain important to them," they added.

The letter was also addressed to two other state leaders - Sarawak United Progressive Party (Supp) president Dr George Chan and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) president William Mawan

Hearing next week

The problem with TV3 access for the residents of Bintulu - an industrial town in northern Sarawak - and the surrounding areas has been festering since the early 1990s, causing fluctuating changes in the area's parliamentary and state representation.

In 1996, former Sarawak National Party (Snap) president James Wong is believed to have lost his parliamentary seat to DAP because of his inability to resolve the issue while current Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing ( left ) is said to have won back the seat for BN in 1999 largely due to his promise to set up a RM4 million television broadcasting station in the area.

Tiong, who was then the Snap treasurer-general, had pledged to raise RM1.5 million through his personal contacts for the party to supplement RM2.5 million provided by the Prime Minister's Department and TV3.

According to documents provided to malaysiakini , Tiong had authorised TV3 in late 1999 to appoint a contractor to commence work on the broadcasting station.

However, construction company Eastern Park Sdn Bhd, halted work several months later when Tiong failed to pay on schedule. In mid-2000, the company filed a lawsuit claiming RM1.4 million in compensation from TV3, Snap and Tiong.

When contacted, lawyer Cecil Lau who represents TV3 declined to comment on the case beyond saying that the case is due to be heard before the Bintulu High Court on March 8.

Eastern Park's counsel Lim Heng Choo said the lawsuit had originally named TV3 as sole defendant but this was later extended to include Snap secretary-general and Tiong at the latter's request.

Widening rifts

Meanwhile, the TV3 dispute has also been blamed for part of the intense rivalry and infighting within Sarawak BN over the past few years.

A disagreement which sprung up between former Snap president Wong and Tiong over the latter's failure to raise his RM1.5 million pledge erupted into a bitter leadership struggle which culminated in the party's deregistration by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) in 2002.

Tiong left Snap with the backing of all but one of the party's elected representatives and went on to form the SPDP which was then speedily accepted back into the BN-fold. Snap is presently preparing to contest in the upcoming general election as an opposition party.

Of late, rifts appeared to have also widened between SPDP and Supp over the effect of the TV3 dispute on BN's electoral chances in the Bintulu area.

The BN members, in their letter, claimed that Tiong's problems had been a key reason for Supp's loss of the Kidurong state seat to DAP during the 2001 Sarawak state elections.

"DAP fully exploited the issue and won the Kidurong seat within the Bintulu parliamentary constituency. On hindsight, many analysts blamed Tiong for not resolving the TV3 issue thereby contributing significantly to BN's loss," it said.

Kidurong state assemblyperson Chew Chin Sing beat then-incumbent Supp candidate Michael Sim Kiam Hui by a mere 143 votes.

"Many Supp hardcore members felt that Tiong had purposely (left the TV3 issue unresolved) to inflict injury in vengeance to Supp leaders with whom he never had a good relationship," claimed the letter.

Factional feuds

Sarawak has seen regular and often bitter inter and intra-party conflicts involving component parties of the ruling coalition.

Last December, another BN component party, the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) was deregistered by the ROS following a protracted leadership feud.

However, in the 1999 general election, Sarawak BN scored a clean sweep of all the parliamentary seats.

Of the 28 parliamentary seats in the state, 11 are held by Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu, the party headed by the state chief Abdul Taib, seven by PBDS, six by Supp and four by Snap.

In the coming general election, expected to be held next month, the state will see contest in all parliamentary seats.

However, unlike the other states, there will not be an election for state seats as Sarawak had its local polls three years ago.