Grassroots leaders of Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) strongly oppose any reunion or merger between SPDP and Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) as suggested by Teras president William Mawan Ikom.

 

Last week Mawan, who is social development minister, mooted the idea of Teras being reunited with his former party - SPDP.

 

He had said that disputes in politics were common.

 

“There is the possibility for Teras being reunited with SPDP, and even with Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), for the sake of BN,” he had suggested.

 

Although Mawan is in the cabinet of Chief Minister Adenan Satem ( left ), Teras is not a member of BN.

 

Reacting to Mawan’s statement, SPDP Pakan division, which was Mawan’s former division, warned SPDP leaders that the idea of a merger was a ‘political ploy’.

 

“It is a move to gain sympathy and put SPDP under pressure,” said the division’s chairperson Ting Kew Ming in a statement yesterday.

 

He had doubts if Mawan was sincere in making this proposal saying if he was, he would have broached the idea discreetly, instead of announcing it to the media.

 

He noted that the silence from other Teras leaders indicated Mawan could have taken them by surprise with his statement.

 

Obviously, Mawan was not a team player because such a statement should have been made after consultation with other Teras leaders, Ting suggested.

 

Grassroots leaders from SPDP Opar division also called on the SPDP leaders to be cautious with Mawan’s suggestion. Its chairperson Rayang Narong said that SPDP had learnt its lessons from the turmoil the party went through because of Mawan’s maneuvering when he was president.

 

“All the problems and troubles that SPDP are facing now stem from Mawan. In 2011 Peter Nansian, Sylvester Entri and other SPDP leaders rebelled against Mawan’s leadership leading to the protracted crisis in the party.

 

“Instead of seeking solutions to the crisis, Mawan expelled them from SPDP,” Rayang said, pointing out that when SPDP was steadying itself after the general election in 2013, Mawan dropped a bombshell announcing their re-admission to the party.

 

Mawan, he said, did not consult SPDP leaders on the re-admission of the expelled leaders, and this led to another crisis, which resulted in Mawan resigning from the party and joining Teras.

 

Warning SPDP leaders that history might repeat itself, Rayang said Mawan was not a team player and showed disrespect for senior party leaders.

 

“SPDP cannot take Mawan’s merger proposal seriously,” he added.

 

Outright rejection

 

Meanwhile, the SPDP Telang Usan division rejected outright Mawan’s merger proposal, describing it as a ‘fatal mistake’ for SPDP to accommodate its former leaders.

 

“We are inviting trouble if we merge with Teras,” said its chairperson Wan Lah.

 

He said SPDP was now progressing smoothly.

 

“Why should we rock the boat that to accommodate a former president who abandoned the ship (SPDP)?”

 

He noted that Mawan ( right ) was a serial ‘party hopper’ who jumped from one party to another for his own survival, pointing out that he had no party to jump to and was thinking of coming back to SPDP.

 

“He jumped from Sarawak National Party (SNAP) to form SPDP, then he jumped from SPDP to Teras and now he is talking about reunion with SPDP.

 

“Is there any guarantee that he would not jump from SPDP to any party in the future if the going gets tough for him?

 

“Mawan has eroded his credibility though his party hopping,” Wan held.