The newly-formed Parti Rakyat Sarawak's (PRS) over-drive membership recruitment has put it in a bit of a spot with a state Barisan Nasional party.

It has raised the ire of leaders of the Sarawak United People's Party (Supp), including its president Dr George Chan, who earlier this week said it would be breaking a gentleman's agreement if PRS had been enticing Supp members to leave and join the new party.

They were obviously referring to Supp Kapit Wanita chief and several party members who had resigned from the party and announced they would be joining PRS, which is temporarily headed by civil servant-turned-politician Sidi Munan until state Land Development Minister Dr James Masing takes over in January next year.

PRS whose application to join BN has been endorsed by the state BN supreme council recently is the new home for nine of the 14 elected representatives of the now-defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS).

Preserve BN harmony

Former PBDS vice-president Sng Chee Hua is largely credited for getting the party registered in record time, after PBDS was deregistered on Oct 21.

Several of PRS pro tem committee members are Chinese, including two professionals Dr Ong Lark Sai, who is related to Sng, and a Kuching lawyer Ernest Chua, both of whom are also councillors in the Kuching City South Council.

The multi-racial party has been on a statewide recruitment drive, in both urban and rural areas where PBDS drew its membership support. It has been more active than PBDS in recruiting non-Dayak members, especially Chinese in Kuching and Kapit.

Kapit is the constituency base of one of its non Dayak leaders, 24-year-old Larry Sng, a state Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Office and son of Sng Chee Hua, a coporate figure.

Dr Masing told malaysiakini today that the party has no intention of pinching members from other component parties - Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Supp and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).

If there had been a mistake, he said, it was not intentional.

"We want to preserve harmony among BN component parties," he added.

PRS is said to be focusing as much on recruiting Chinese and other non-Dayaks are members as it is multi-racial and some of its leaders are non-Dayaks.

Following their leaders

With the possibility of the remaining five elected representatives from the defunct PBDS being admitted into Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud's PBB , it is expected that they will bring along all or most of their PBDS supporters from their respective constituencies with them into PBB as well.

Because of the quarrels among PBDS members, many ordinary members are said to be not keen on PRS and may opt either to follow the five elected representatives or other BN component parties, such as Supp and SPDP, or will not to be members of any political party at all.

PBDS had on record about 130,000 members throughout Sarawak, and with the party's demise possibly half or less might eventually join PRS.

To-date, PRS leaders have announced that more than 10,000 members have joined the party.

PRS will be holding its inaugural congress in January next year during which new party leaders will be elected.