'Outsiders' will not be involved when the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) conducts elections for a new team of office-bearers, said a senior leader.

The party supreme council will conduct the elections at a date to be decided after its meeting on April 25, said the leader who asked not to be identified.

"There is no question of outsiders conducting the elections. That would go against the party constitution," he said.

Among those deemed to be 'outsiders' are the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and state and federal Barisan Nasional (BN) representatives.

The party leader also said several senior PBDS leaders, including secretary-general Stanley Ajang ( photo ), are currently in Kuala Lumpur to try and meet Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to discuss the matter.

PBDS, which was de-registered last December, was reinstated on appeal last month in a letter signed by the Home Ministry's assistant secretary-general.

It stipulated four conditions, one of which was that the party must re-elect its office bearers. No deadline was given for this.

The letter, however confirmed that the party's triennial delegates conference (TDC) conducted by its Daniel Tajem faction in Santubong last year was not in order.

Another conference, held a day earlier in Bintulu by a rival faction led by Dr James Masing, had been ruled invalid by the ROS earlier.

Masing for meeting?

The ministry said the supreme council members elected prior to the Santubong TDC are still in charge. It was referring to the party supreme council headed by Tajem, who had succeeded party founder Leo Moggie as president when the latter stepped down.

Last week, Tajem appointed former state information chief Dr James Masing ( photo ), Hulu Rajang Member of Parliament Billy Abit and businessman Sim Lai Ann as members of the supreme council.

Masing, however, had questioned Tajem's authority to make such appointments and this has given rise to speculation that Masing and his supporters are unlikely to attend the supreme council meeting later this month.

Meanwhile, Parti Rakyat Sarawak pro-tem chairperson Sidi Munan, who is aligned to the Masing group, said in a statement today that he had decided not to pursue the registration of his new party.

He said this is because of the ongoing efforts to reinstate PBDS adding that he hoped the forthcoming PBDS elections would be held in a fair and just manner.