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Anthony Nogeh with his supporters during Muhyiddin's visit to Siniawan
Bazaar.
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There will be no Barisan Nasional (BN) direct candidates in
Sarawak for the upcoming 13th General election and the state BN is
confident of winning two-thirds of the parliamentary seats in Sarawak.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said it
clear that there will be no BN direct candidates in the coming general
election.
Muhyiddin’s announcement has immediately received the
support of Tasik Biru PBB and Opar PBB. Both branches are in total agreement
with Muhyiddin that there will be no BN direct candidates in the 13th general
election.
The deputy prime minister stressed that all candidates who
were being considered by BN were from component parties, adding that the ruling
party hold on to the principle that all candidates are picked from BN component
parties.
He stressed that for Sarawak all candidates are from (BN)
component parties.
Of late, talk is on the possibility of BN direct candidates
in Sarawak in the coming parliamentary elections, particularly in the persons
of Mas Gading incumbent Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe and Hulu Rajang incumbent Datuk
Billy Abit Joo.
After Muhyiddin’s announcement talks about such arrangement
has somehow subsided.
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| PBB Tasik Biru John Nyigor making his speech during the gathering of "Ngarom Tikuruk Jagoi Bratak in Bau recently. |
Dr Tiki is now partyless after being sacked by SPDP for
gross insubordination and the party has nominated Anthony Nogeh Gumbek to
replace him in the seat. Dr Tiki, however, is still harbouring hope of being
re-nominated by BN as he seeks re-election for the fourth term.
He has also maintained that he would be defending the seat
on BN ticket, resulting in talk that he could be a BN direct candidate.
After Muhyiddin’s announcement, Dr Tiki nevertheless refused
to comment about the direct candidacy and the same goes to his promoter Datuk
Peter Nansian, the leader of the Gang Five (G5).
As for Hulu Rajang, the situation appears to be silent a lot
since Abit first made public his dissatisfaction with PRS president Tan Sri Dr
James Masing’s decision to replace him with new face, Wilson Ugak Kumbong.
Ignoring Masing’s declaration that PRS had nominated Ugak, Abit has continued with his visits in his
constituency as if he will defend the seat.
Talk of direct candidacy is actually nothing new each
election but the fact is that there has only been two direct BN candidates ever
to contest in Sarawak and it is Abit and Mambong MP Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit.
Abit, a Orang Ulu won the 1995 general election in Hulu
Rajang as a direct BN candidate but joined the now defunct PBDS and later PRS
while Dawos (a fresh candidate at that time) stood as BN direct candidate and won
and later joined PBB.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said he believed internal bickering
within BN component parties could be resolved in time for the election.
He told reporters in Kuching that during his meeting with
state BN leaders at the PBB headquarters he was briefed on the situation in the
state and that any squabble within the parties would be resolved promptly.
He said the component parties are taking initiatives to
resolve their issues.
"They are showing determination to find solutions because
the factions involved understood that as we are approaching the polls everyone
must be united.
“There cannot be any squabble which can affect the image of
parties representing BN which would then affect the parties’ performance during
the election. I am confident they can resolve their issues,” said Muhyiddin.
He added that as far as Sarawak was concerned, the state was
ready to face the election at any time, although he remained tight-lipped on
the dates. He said he was confident that BN would continue to dominate rural
voters with bigger majority.
Muhyiddin said based on reports from the ground and the
change in trends and attitude of voters, BN might be able to wrestle back some
of the seats which it had lost to the Opposition.
“We put our focus on a few areas. Seats we have we will
defend and increase support ... and for the lost seats we will find ways to
gain voters’ support.
“We have a good chance in the urban areas in the coming
polls because of major development brought by us (BN) and some changes in the
voters’ attitude. However we still need to work very hard to ensure success,”
he added.
Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said the State
BN is confident of winning more than two-thirds majority.
“We are quite
confident that in Sarawak we will win more than two-thirds of the seats,” the
PBB president and state Barisan chairman said.
The two-hour-long meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief
Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, who is PBB deputy president, SUPP president Datuk
Seri Peter Chin, PRS president Tan Sri Dr James Masing, SPDP president Tan Sri
William Mawan, other party leaders and state and Federal Cabinet members.
Elaborating on what Taib said, state Barisan
secretary-general Datuk Dr Stephen Rundi said the urban seats would be very critical
for the ruling coalition in the coming polls.
“We have to admit that. But two thirds is not a problem for
us,” he said.
Barisan currently holds 29 of the state’s 31 parliamentary
seats, while DAP has Bandar Kuching and Sibu.
During the meeting the party leaders briefed Muhyiddin on
their preparedness to face the elections at any time, including getting their
machinery ready.
The candidate list, however, was not discussed during the
briefing.
Rundi said the list is still top secret and cannot be
disclosed yet, adding that they only updated the Deputy Prime Minister on what
have been done and all the strategies that BN have.
Meanwhile Tasik Biru PBB chief John Nyigor said Muhyiddin’s
announcement was in line with BN principle that the candidates must be a member
of a BN component party.
He said these candidates should not be someone from outside
BN or one who merely claimed to be BN-friendly but not a member of a BN
component party.
“In the case of Mas Gading, Datuk Dr Tiki (Lafe) can’t go
against that principle. The seat (Mas Gading) belongs to SPDP and it is up to
the party to nominate its winnable candidate for the seat,” said Nyigor
yesterday.
Nyigor said whatever the quarrel in SPDP was about, the fact
that Dr Tiki had been sacked from the party meant that the Mas Gading incumbent
was automatically disqualified from becoming BN candidate under the BN principle.
He cited the case of former Pelagus assemblyman Larry Sng,
who was sacked from PRS in 2002 for insubordination, as an example.
He said Sng was not re-nominated as BN candidate to defend
the seat in the last state election even though he was at that time the
Industrial Development Assistant Minister and Assistant Minister in the Chief
Minister’s Office.
Nyigor said Sng’s case was a clear example of what the BN
principle was all about.
Sng, however, was appointed special advisor (youth matters)
to the state government after the state election until he resigned from the
post to become Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) president.
Believing that Mas Gading was and will always be BN’s strong
hold, Nyigor said: “Personally I believe that SPDP or BN will continue to win
in Mas Gading, unless backstabbing and sabotaging happen.”
Nyigor went on to call upon all BN supporters in Mas Gading
to give their full support to SPDP/BN candidate in the coming poll, assuring
that PBB Tasik Biru would throw its support behind the the BN candidate.
SPDP has nominated Salcra deputy manager Anthony Nogeh who
has gone on a flurry of activities meeting the voters of Mas Gading in recent
weeks.
Nogeh, a lawyer by training, has been well-received with
many grassroots leaders banking on him to deliver what Dr Tiki had failed to
despite being their MP for close to 15 years already.
PBB deputy publicity chief and Opar PBB chairman Datuk Peter
Minos said it was only logical that there should not be any BN direct
candidates as the component parties’ wishes must be respected in the BN spirit
of brotherhood.
“This is political common sense as this will ensure unity
and harmony in BN. Any other way will plant seeds of disunity and unhappiness
in the ruling coalition. As I used to say, BN components must respect each
other and each other’s decisions.
“As for those outside BN we have to say “we cannot control
them”. They can say or do what they want but what they do or say must not have
any bearing on BN,” said Minos.
Minos said there was logic in BN being consistent in its
basic policies as this helped in solidifying unity among individual members and
among the components.
Such consistency facilitated and generated predictability of
decisions, thus would not cast aspersions and distrust, he added.
“If decisions are made merely to suit the day’s political
convenience, this will surely generate misunderstanding, even suspicion, sooner
or later.”
On the Mas Gading seat, Minos said SPDP as a BN partner had
every right to nominate its candidate and its choice must be respected by all
parties, including the Group of Five (G5) led by Datuk Peter Nansian.
“Non-BN people may not agree but what is there for them to
stop BN from adhering to its long-standing policies? BN business is its own.
“In saying what he said, the Deputy Prime Minister most
likely does not consider those calling themselves pro-BN or BN-friendly to be
in any position to influence BN top leaders’ decisions. That is my
interpretation,” he stressed.
On Nansian’s call for the “right formula” in the selection
of candidate in Mas Gading, Minos asked: “What formula does Nansian want to
suggest?”
Minos said there was no need for those outside BN to decide
on the candidacy, adding that Nansian should not question the BN leaders’
intelligence.
“The right formula is that there must not be any candidates
from outside BN component parties, that the component parties have the right to
choose their own candidates, and that the Prime Minister has the final say on
the choice of the candidates.”Read full article>>
