Was an ‘honest oversight’, Najib?

SPDP will send Prime Minister Najib a petition signed by all its 40 branches statewide, urging him to appoint one full minister and two deputies from the party.

KUCHING: Dayak-majority Sarawak Progressive  Democratic Party (SPDP) has given Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak the benefit of the doubt over its exclusion from the federal cabinet.

Despite winning all its four parliamentary seats in the 13th general election, SPDP was dropped from the federal cabinet.

“We hope it is an honest oversight (on the part of the PM) as we cannot really imagine any other reasons,” said SPDP supreme council member James Laju Ambok.

Laju was speaking to newsmen following a meeting between supreme council members and 12 deeply disappointed branch chairmen here.

He said the party had decided to send Najib a joint-petition urging the PM to give the party a full minister and a deputy in the federal cabinet.

In the last cabinet, the party had two deputies in the Transport and International Trade and Industry ministries

Laju said the petition will be signed by all its 40 branches statewide.

He said the petition will support an earlier letter from party president William Mawan to Najib.

“It is our fervent hope that a senior MP will be appointed to a full ministerial post while the other two be given deputy ministerial positions.

“This is our priority which is no less than what we had in the previous cabinet. We strongly support our president’s recommendation to PM for three MPs to be appointed to the cabinet as SPDP won all its four seats in the 13th general lection,” he said.

Asked if SPDP was weighing a pull-out from the Barisan Nasional coalition, Laju replied in the negative.

“We have never thought of getting away from BN. This is far off the mark but we do hope that PM will announce something favourable for the party soon.

“We have contributed well in the last general election and are not asking for more.

“We just want to be given what is fitting and justified to SPDP” he said.