Dr James Masing, a faction leader in the crisis-ridden Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), has claimed that Chief Minister and Sarawak BN chief Abdul Taib Mahmud has asked him (Masing) to submit its list of six candidates for the parliamentary elections.

The six parliamentary seats in question were originally PBDS seats. However, as PBDS had been deregistered, PRS has staked a claim for them.

Masing also told the gathering of more than 100 people in Entabai, Julau where he made the disclosure yesterday that as PRS is a fractious party he does not know yet which of the two factions will be submitting the list to the BN.

One of the six seats is Julau whose incumbent is Deputy Foreign Minister Joseph Salang. He is the only partyless elected representative from the former PBDS.

Salang was not present at the gathering. He was said to be absent owing to a prior engagement.

Masing told the longhouse people that they should support whoever was chosen to stand on the BN ticket in Julau, according to headman Patrick Sibat, who was also present.

At a recent longhouse reception, also in Julau, Salang said he was not ready to join PRS because of its present leadership squabbles, adding that the party faced the risk of de-registration if no solution was found.

Two MPs each

Masing's aide Tedewin Ngumbang claimed that Salang chose to stay away while he chose to attend an earlier function, also in Julau, together with Larry Sng, leader of the other PRS faction.

Of the six MPs previously elected on BN-PBDS ticket, both PRS factions have two MPs each. One has joined SPDP.

The visits of both faction leaders to Julau appear to suggest that they are seriously staking a claim to the seat. Unless Salang or anybody else is a party member, he or she cannot be nominated as the BN candidate.

However, the final decision is to be made by the top BN leadership.