Efforts are now being made by Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) leaders to hold fresh elections and elect new office bearers as directed by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Malaysiakini

learnt today that the first meeting to trigger off preparations for the new triennial delegates conference (TDC) will take place next Tuesday in Kuching.

The meeting, according to sources, will be attended by the Registrar of Societies Dahari Ibrahim or his representative, federal Barisan Nasional secretary-general Khalil Yaccob, Sarawak Barisan Nasional secretary-general Ambrose Blikau and leaders or representatives from both factions in PBDS.

The fresh polls is one of the conditions stipulated by the home minister when he allowed the appeal by the party for reinstatement on March 9 this year after the party was de-registered by the ROS on December 5 last year.

Poser over delegates

There is always some disagreement voiced publicly between the faction led by PBDS acting president Daniel Tajem and the other led by former information chief Dr James Masing.

This is over the question of delegates list to be used, with the Tajem faction saying two days ago there is no way the delegates list for the year 2000 could be used because many of the branches were not even sanctioned or registered.

The Tajem faction did not say what list would be used, but some party officials seem to indicate that they prefer a new list to be drawn from branches registered up to the beginning of last year before its July TDC but later deemed not to be in order by the home minister.

If this is the case, it will take time as all branches will have to be certified and approved and agreed to by both factions, before branch elections are held to pick delegates for the new TDC.

A second point of contention likely to crop up is the insistence by the Tajem group that the party's supreme council is the only body that could conduct the elections, but with the supervision of the ROS and the BN.

According to a Tajem faction leader, the party constitution and the Societies Act are quite explicit on this point, that is the party should be the one to conduct the meeting in accordance with the rules and procedures as laid down.

Definite advantage

Under this constitution, the powers are vested in a credentials committee whose composition is decided by the supreme council to verify branches for their eligibility to attend and send delegates to attend and vote at the TDC.

The Masing faction, on the other hand, wants the TDC held as quickly as possible, using the year 2000 delegates list (which the Tajem faction claimed is tainted in some ways).

It is not sure, however, who exactly is going to conduct the elections. According to observers, because the home minister has decided that the supreme council elected prior to the July 2003 TDC is to remain in status quo with Tajem as acting president until the new elections, the Masing faction fears that this will give Tajem and his supporters definite advantage if they are to be responsible for organising the elections.

Even though Tajem has recently appointed Masing and two of his supporters - Hulu Rajang MP Billy Abit and businessman Sim Lai Ann - into the supreme council, Masing has questioned Tajem's power to act as such. But, according to observers, even with the additional appointments, Masing and his men will still be outnumbered, and this has a bearing on decision-making in the party.

The Masing group is said to insist on independent parties to conduct the elections, and next Tuesday's meeting, other than fixing the date and venue for the TDC, is expected to discuss this matter too.