Four 'errant' SPDP reps leave future in CM's hands

KUCHING: The four “errant” Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) assemblymen - who stormed out of a meeting in January 2010 in protest against president Mawan Ikom - have left their political future to Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

The four – Peter Nansian (Tasik Biru), Sylvester Enteri (Marudi), Paulus Gumbang (Batu Danau) and Rosey Yunus (Bekenu) – refused to comment regarding their political future, but their close aides said that they are leaving it to Barisan Nasional and Taib.

Of the four, Nansian is the Assistant Minister of Environment and Public Health and Enteri the Assistant Minister for Public Utilities.

According to the aides, the CM may decide to field the four as candidates under direct BN membership.

“There are precedents in the past and there is no reason why such precedents cannot be emulated for the four of them. The BN still needs the services of the four elected representatives,” the aides added.

Moreover, they said, BN was going to initiate - at the end of the year - a direct BN membership.

"Once it is open, anyone can contest as a BN member and it will not be necessary to use a component party in BN," said the aides.

Unkept promise

The four together with the MP for Mas Gading Tiki Lafe and three other supreme council members, George Garai, Peter Gani and Eda Egar walked out from a SPDP supreme council meeting in January this year in protest against the decision of the president to drop Enteri as secretary general.

Mawan had promised to retain Enteri as the secretary-general in an effort to prevent Mawan and his deputy Peter Nyarok from being challenged in the December 2009 party election.

However, after the election Mawan failed to keep his word, and during the announcement of the new appointment, the eight walked out from the meeting.

Various efforts including “solidarity night” by Mawan to get them to return to the party have so far failed.

The “solidarity night” which attempted to bring them together failed to get off the ground after it was postponed a number of times.

And since then, the eight have failed to attend the supreme council meetings for the third consecutive time. And according to the party constitution, they should have been disciplined if no written apologies were given.

And for that reason, George Garai, Peter Gani and Eda Egar have reportedly been suspended from the party.

Meanwhile, Mawan has been saying that all the eight incumbents including the the four elected representatives would be recommended to defend their seats in the coming election.

But he could not assure that his recommendation would be approved as it all depended on ground reports whether any particular candidate can win or not.

“Even me as president, I cannot guarantee I will be contesting,” he was often quoted by the media.

Mawan’s vague statements are being considered by the four dissident state assemblymen to mean that they might be dropped from the next election.

“Nevertheless, they are not worried at all. After all it was not SPDP who had recruited them to join the party and contested in previous elections,” said the aides.

courtesy of FMT