news analysis

Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) chief Abdul Taib Mahmud has publicly admitted, for the first time, that there are rifts within the party but said the "rifts were not serious enough to undermine party unity in facing the impending state elections".

Taib, who is also Sarawak chief minister and chairperson of the ruling four-party Sarawak Barisan Nasional, was fielding questions from reporters while campaigning in his state constituency of Asajaya near Kuching on Saturday following reports of some internal dissension.

"Cliques do exist once in a while, especially when someone (in the party line-up) goes up in an election," Taib said, adding that after a while, rifts would disappear and everybody would start to work together again.

Taib was obviously referring to the then Industrial Development Minister and now Tourism Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg, who beat Taib's preferred choice for the post of second deputy president of PBB two years ago.

The bitterly-fought contest for the key party post left a sour taste in the mouths of many disappointed members of the group who were backing the defeated candidate Adenan Satem (Agriculture and Food Industries Minister) who has since been appointed the party's senior vice-president after the party's constitution was amended to accommodate him in this post.

The aftermath of the party elections also saw attempts by groups seen as closely aligned to the party president to sideline Johari and his supporters.

Speaking to reporters in Asajaya yesterday, Taib said the problem within the party was minor and that it should not affect party unity and performance in the coming state elections. He asked the press to "just wait" when asked when elections would be held.

Although the results of the Likas by-election has bolstered the confidence of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional, its leaders are not going to remain complacent about it.

"Likas was a by-election, all resources and attention was focused on it," one Sarawak BN leader said. "Here in Sarawak, we are going to hold a contest in 62 seats thus the issues would be different, too."

PBDS - minor changes

Meanwhile, the Iban-based Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) led by Energy, Communications and Multimedia Minister Leo Moggie met during the weekend basically to prepare for the elections.

Contrary to earlier newspaper reports, Moggie told reporters at the PBDS headquarters in Jalan Wan Alwi (east of Kuching City) that he has the party's line-up of candidates. He said it has not been formally submitted to the BN chairperson and hinted at the possibility of some minor changes.

PBDS vice-president and corporate figure Sng Chee Hua has publicly stated he is stepping down in favour of his son, Larry, a 24-year-old London School of Economics graduate, for the Pelagus state seat in the Kapit Division in central Sarawak.

Moggie, the party leader, also discounted reports that some party members not nominated as candidates would challenge the official BN candidates. He was apparently referring to reports that the party's deputy president and former Malaysian envoy Daniel Tajem anak Miri (a lawyer by training) would challenge the BN nominee Mong Dagang in Bukit Bagunan in Sri Aman Division.

There has also been talk that Mong Dagang, a former bank officer and the incumbent, may be dropped and that Tajem or his son, nominated for the seat.

In yet another strange twist of events, Ramsay Jitam, the Sarawak BN component Sarawak United People's Party's (SUPP) incumbent for Tanjung Datu, may be re-nominated.

One of the party's problematic area, Tanjung Datu (formerly known as Lundu) has a high percentage of Selako (Dayak group) who have been demanding that someone from their community be chosen to represent the constituency.

Ramsay, one of the state assistant minsiters, said that he will leave it to the party to take further action following reports that so far no acceptable potential candidate has emerged from among the Selako community.

Even SUPP chairperson George Chan Hong Nam, one of the two deputy chief minsiters in Sarawak, hinted months ago Ramsay had indicated his desire to step down. But the incumbent has now refused to say anything beyond that he is leaving it to the party to make the final decision.

Seat swap

In an apparent indication of on-going lobbying with the imminent state elections, even the Sarawak National Party (SNAP), another member of the ruling state BN, has indicated that the party would like to be considered for more than the seven state seats that have been allocated to it.

Sarawak's first chief minister Stephen Kalong Ningkan, was a founder leader of SNAP. The period since then has seen the party in and out of governments.

Wong, the state minister in charge of local government and environment, said the party had made a lot of sacrifices and now has a large membership base. The party would also like to discuss within the BN to be allocated more seats in response to members' request.

His comments seem to have ward off some attempts within the state BN for SNAP to agree to some kind of a seat swap as some quarters within the BN see a much reduced chance of winning in Limbang if SNAP continues to nominate the candidate there.

Wong has of course refused to budge, maintaining that with the support of all component parties, SNAP and BN should be able to win again in Limbang.