The next state election in Sarawak looks set to be a highly contested affair for BN, judging by the tussle for seats already happening among some component parties.

 

The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) have kicked the ball rolling by sending a strong message to Chief Minister and state BN chairperson Adenan Satem.

 

In statements released yesterday, SUPP and SPDP have vowed to stay put in all seats they contested in the last state election.

 

Not only that, the two parties are standing their ground that the United People’s Party (UPP) and Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) should not be allowed to join BN or run under the coalition banner.

 

SUPP president Sim Kui Hian and SPDP President Tiong King Sing said that they would defend the seats at all costs, in this direct address at the Chief Minister.

 

“While we support the leadership of Adenan Satem, we cannot compromise on any attempt to admit Teras and UPP into BN or allocate any seat to them to contest under BN banner,” Tiong said.

 

Adenan last Friday had said that new parties UPP and Teras may get some of the seats as they were “pro-BN”.

 

He said the allocation of seats remains “a non-issue’ for Sarawak BN.

 

The Chief Minister had said: “We will cross the bridge when we come to it. Most importantly, of course, is that they are all pro-BN and on that basis we can negotiate with them”.

 

‘Upheaval if Teras and UPP admitted into BN’

 

Sim ( below ) has been saying that that the candidates for the 19 seats shall be nominated by SUPP in accordance with the guidelines under BN.

 

“Members who are not happy with the party (SUPP) have the right to make their own choices. However, they do not have the right to take along the seats that they won under SUPP.

 

“SUPP would defend all the 19 seats,” he said.

 

SUPP was allocated 19 seats in the last state election and won six of them – Bengoh, Opar, Engkilili, Simanggang, Bawang Assan and Senadin.

 

SUPP now has two seats left – Senadin and Simanggang, while the other four seats are with UPP after the incumbents were sacked from SUPP in May last year following a bitter leadership crisis. They later formed UPP.

 

Meanwhile, Tiong stressed that Teras and UPP were not in BN, and therefore, they should never be included in the allocation of seats among the BN component parties.

“The State BN will face a serious upheaval if Teras and UPP are to be admitted into the BN or given seats to contest under the BN banner in the next state election without the consensus of all the BN component parties,” Tiong warned.

He pointed out that SUPP, SPDP and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) had pledged to stand against the admission of Teras and UPP into BN under the ‘merger of minds’ collective stand.

 

Tiong said that forcing three out of four BN component parties in the state to accept Teras and UPP into BN “is impossible”.

 

‘SPDP will not be bullied’

 

Under the BN agreement, Tiong pointed out, any move to admit a new member must be agreed to by all BN component parties.

 

“We will defend our stand, come what may, and will never be bullied into accepting any terms against our will,” he stressed.

 

Tiong ( right ) lamented that the party was played out of the six seats it had won in the last election as the incumbents left the party after securing their seats.

 

For SPDP, it was allocated eight seats in the last state election, winning six of them – Tasik Biru, Pakan, Meluan, Bekenu, Batu Danau, and Marudi.

 

SPDP has no state assemblypersons left after they were expelled from the party for serious breaches of discipline in 2012.

 

SPDP President William Mawan had resigned from the party in May last year, and together with four other state assemblypersons joined Teras.

 

Another opted to join the Sarawak Workers’ Party, while Mawan went on to lead Teras.

 

‘May be a free for all in 27 seats’

 

Tiong said that the present situation gave a false picture of the strength of SPDP, which he said has defied the odds and become stronger after the crises it went through.

 

He said the party had now more than 100,000 members.

 

As one political observer put it, the ball has now been thrown into Adenan’s court.

 

SUPP and SPDP, as well as members of the public, are closely watching his next move, the observer said.

 

The questions many are asking are: Despite the strong warnings from SUPP and SPDP, will Adenan ( left ) risk admitting Teras and UPP into BN, sidelining SUPP and SPDP in the process?

 

Or will he stick to the BN agreement and listen to SUPP and SPDP and keep Teras and UPP out?

 

Whichever choice Adenan makes, the next state election may be a ‘free for all’ in the 27 state seats – with 19 to be contested by SUPP and eight by SPDP, said the observer.