The Barisan Nasional supreme council that was to have been held last night to discuss the newly-formed Parti Rakyat Sarawak's (PRS) application to join the coalition was called off at the last minute.

Several Sarawak BN component parties' leaders were already in Kuala Lumpur when they were informed the meeting would not be held as scheduled.

A highly-placed source in the Prime Minister's Department told malaysiakini today that he did not know exactly why the meeting was cancelled, but added that the Prime Minister and BN chairperson Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had just returned from an official visit to Saudi Arabia.

"It (the meeting) was not in the PM's diary," he said.

Local newspapers had widely anticipated the meeting scheduled yesterday to discuss PRS' application to join the BN and to give it a formal approval since the state BN has formally endorsed it.

Chief Minister and state BN chairperson Abdul Taib Mahmud had said after chairing a BN meeting that he would personally bring up the PRS' application for the approval of the federal BN supreme council.

Abdullah is believed to have asked for the meeting to be rescheduled to another date which has not been determined after saying he needed a rest after returning from Saudi Arabia.

Among those who were at the KLIA to welcome the Prime Minister on his return was his deputy Najib Tun Razak, who, according to sources, had fixed the date for yesterday's meeting.

State-level decision first

PRS was formed in October last year on the same date as Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) was de-registered for the second and final time. Nine of the 14 elected representatives of the now defunct PBDS later joined PRS, leaving the remaining still partyless, although they have applied to join Taib's Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) as a first option.

PBB has yet to make a decision, and it is understood that Abdullah prefers a decision made first at the state level on the status of the five partyless elected representatives, including Deputy Foreign Minister Joseph Salang, before any decision to formally accept PRS into the BN fold.

State BN secretary-general Ambrose Blikau told reporters today he had no information why yesterday's meeting in KL was called off, as he did not attend due to prior official engagements in Miri.

But several other top leaders of the three state component parties - PBB, Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) - were already in Kuala Lumpur.