Campaigning is heating up ahead of the contest for post of deputy chief in the Demak Laut division in Sarawak's Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), in what is largely seen as a proxy war between rival factions.

The meeting will be held in Kuching on June 19, as a series of steps preceding the party convention scheduled for Sept 15-17 in Miri. Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud leads the PBB.

The incumbent is Bujang Helmi, the chief minister's political secretary, who is also known to be close to senior vice-president Adenan Satem and the man everyone thinks is likely to become Taib's successor as chief minister.

Bujang served as political secretary to Adenan when the latter was state agriculture and food industries minister before being appointed to his current post of federal natural resources and environment minister.

Reliable party sources told malaysiakini today that Bujang is likely to be challenged by three candidates.

One of those named is Dr Hazlan Hipni, who runs a medical practice in Kuching and who is believed to have the support of the faction led by deputy president Abang Johari Tun Openg.

His nomination is speculatively being linked to a move that could see Demak Laut division head and state assemblyperson Dr Abang Draup Abang Zen either being dropped as candidate in the next state elections or moved to another state constituency.

Like Hazlan, Draup is a doctor and is currently state assistant minister of environment and public health. He too is loyal to Johari who is believed to have told him as well as Wanita chief Sharifah Mordiah "not to quit but to defend their posts in the face of current challenges".

The other two candidates are Perwadis Musa and Ahmad Suhaili who could act as spoilers in the event of a close fight between Bujang and Hazlan.

New option

Johari ( photo ), who is expected to officiate at the meeting, is the man whom Adenan sees as standing in the way of his ambition to take over as party leader and eventually as chief minister.

Political analysts say, however, there is no way Johari could survive if there are elections for top posts as Adenan has made sure that, this time, he has the majority of the divisions on his side.

To avoid another acrimonious fight for a key party post, the supreme council decided recently there would be no contest for the posts of president, two deputy presidents and two senior vice-presidents.

Johari,who beat Adenan for the deputy president's post in 1989, knows he no longer has the numbers on his side. At most, according to analysts, he can count on no more than six or seven divisions, most of them in Kuching, out of the total of 62 divisions in the party.

In addition, there is no guarantee that he will automatically become the president as and when the post falls vacant.

The party constitution now includes a provision to allow a caucus made up of the party's elected representatives (senators, state assemblypersons and members of Parliament) to nominate one of the assemblypersons for the post of chief minister - and the person will automatically become party president.

However, this option may not be exercised in the event that consensus is reached on retaining the party hierarchy.

If this happens, Johari still stands a chance of going up, especially since he is widely thought to have the backing of federal leadership.

Keen contests

Johari, meanwhile, is being kept on his toes in his political bastion of Kuching. Observers said he has been able to thwart attempts to undermine his support base.

Incumbent Pantai Damai division deputy head Osman Marzuki - a Johari supporter - defended his post recently against a challenge by businessman Annuar Razak who claimed to have Taib's support - and therefore, that of Adenan ( photo ) as well.

"This is being seen as in some quarters as Adenan's men having a go at Johari's turf," said an analyst.

All eyes are also on Tupong, another party division in Kuching where the state assemblyperson Daud Abdul Rahman is expected to be returned unopposed as division head with focus on the deputy head post and a proxy war ensued in like manner. Daud has switched camp to Adenan.

Daud is state assistant minister in the Chief Minister's Office, but is rumoured likely to be promoted to full minister if and when Adenan takes over.

The proxy war, according to analysts, is a precursor of keen contests for vice- president and ordinary supreme council posts reserved for the Bumiputera/Malay/Melanau group.

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini 's Sarawak-based stringer.