A divisional chief has openly criticised the top leadership of Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) on their rush in pushing through some important amendments to the party constitution at last week's general assembly without giving members time to study them.

Batu Kawa division chief Albert Chin told a press conference yesterday the leaders were not being fair to all delegates by merely asking for a show of hand instead of putting it through a secret ballot when they asked for their support for the amendments.

He claimed that not all delegates agreed with the amendments.

"What do you expect to happen when the leaders, seated at the stage, are able to spot who do not raise their hands?" he asked.

Chin, a businessman, has recently been critical of the party leadership on the conduct of certain party matters, which he claimed indicated the leaders were losing touch with the grassroots.

According to informed sources, Chin was particularly critical of the latest move in making changes to the party constitution that would effectively deny any new member a chance to go for any top party posts until he or she has been a member for no less than six years.

By doing that, Chin said the leaders of the two-year-old party, an off-shoot of the Sarawak National Party (Snap), had gone back on their words as they were now discouraging "new and more capable youths to join and strengthen the party."

Chin said the present leaders should have the courage to face any challenge from members who are equally capable, even though they may be new in the party.

Own positions

A party leader, who asked not to identified, told malaysiakini that top SPDP leaders appeared to be "in too much in a hurry to push through with amendments", indicating that they were more concerned at their own entrenched positions in the party.

Even though the move might be in the best interest of the party, nevertheless it would be wrong if delegates had not been given sufficient time or notice to study the implications of the amendments, he added.

According to observers, the amendment move came at a time when there was widespread talk that SPDP, led by state Social Development and Urbanisation Minister William Mawan, might have to accommodate several disgruntled elected representatives of troubled Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS).

A group of PBDS elected representatives, led by state Land Development Minister Dr James Masing, and who are opposed to the PBDS leader Daniel Tajem and his group, may opt to stay out of PBDS if they fail to win in fresh party polls ordered by the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to resolve the party crisis.

But there is now uncertainty as to whether the PBDS' triennial delegates conference (TDC) will be able to proceed as scheduled on Oct 9-10.

This follows the latest announcement by BN secretary-general Radzi Sheikh Ahmad that the next BN technical committee meeting would only be held after the Kuala Berang and Ba'Kelalan by elections. He is chairperson of the technical committee as well as the PBDS credentials committee (which has yet to meet) that will scrutinise the party election.

With the Umno general assembly taking place in September, Radzi, who is also Umno secretary-general, is expected to be busy.

"It does not look like the PBDS TDC can be held as scheduled if the technical committee has still not met to get the two factions in PBDS to agree on a common delegates list for the party elections,' a Tajem faction leader told malaysiakini .

New TDC date?

Assuming an agreement is reached among both factions by end of September, he said, then the party has to go through the process of getting the branches to meet and hold their annual general meetings and agree on the respective lists.

The possibility of a new TDC date being set is not being discounted as BN officials involved in mediation efforts to try and resolve the PBDS crisis will be fully occupied with other matters within the next two months.

The delay in the PBDS election may lead to frustration among certain quarters and some may even choose to stay away.

In that event, if that should forestall any party elections at all, will that jeopardise PBDS' position leading it to being de-registered again?

"If that were to happen, would or could SPDP say no in offering some accommodation, if that is the decision of the state BN?'

Do Mawan and his colleagues in SPDP have much choice?," a state BN leader said on condition of anonymity.

"If it must come to that, then the recent amendments do make much sense," he said

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini 's Sarawak-based stringer.