Calls for
incumbent Mas Gading MP Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe not to contest in the 13th
General Election has increased from voters in the constituency in order to pave way for new face Anthony Nogeh Gumbek
from Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).
Besides
calls from leaders of Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties in Tasik Biru and
Opar (two state constituencies in Mas Gading Parliamentary seat) similar calls
also came from voters in Mas Gading itself.
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| Tan Sri William Mawan (standing second from left) and Anthony Nogeh (standing third from left) meeting with BN supporters in Bau. |
Johnny Jalin,
said it would be honorable for members of Club BN-5 to relinquish their ministerial
positions in the state cabinet to maintain their accountability and
responsibility to the president and the party that had given them to
"serve" the people via the party.
He said in mature
democratic countries like Britain, Germany, France and USA any tint in their
ethic and integrity the person would resign voluntarily without been pushed.
But in
Malaysia, he said this is not the case.
“If joining
a political can bring you far in position and economic status, that is exactly
what politicians are in Malaysia,” he said.
Another
voter Petrus Kuju said Tiki Lafe has been given enough power and time to help
people of their basic needs:- electricity and water.
“However,
look at villages in Lundu area, Bokah, Simpang Bokah, Silok, Selampit and other
are which are just few minutes drive from Lundu still do not have clean water. “Even
for the last 50 years in so called independence, we still do not have any
water. How long, how many years more do you want to suffer?” bhe asked.
Meanwhile PBB
Opar branch fully respects Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party’s decision to
nominate Nogeh to replace Tiki in Mas
Gading this coming general election.
Its chairman
Datuk Peter Minos said that SPDP was a BN component party and as such PBB would
accordingly respect the party’s (SPDP) decisions.
He added
that it was public knowledge that SPDP had decided that Nogeh would be its
candidate for Mas Gading and that they in PBB would respect that decision.
“That
includes us in PBB Opar branch. It is not our business at the branch level to
question the decision of BN or the main body and its top leaders or BN
component parties.
“We follow
our top leader and his decision in accordance with party culture and
discipline. It is unthinkable for us in PBB to disobey our leaders,” said
Minos, who is also PBB deputy information chief.
He said PBB
Opar branch was an integral part of PBB, which is Sarawak’s BN backbone party
and would do anything necessary to help BN win all its seats in the coming
general election.
Minos added
that they in PBB Opar were deeply concerned about the bickering between SPDP
and its former members who called themselves BN-friendly in the BN Club.
“We very
much prefer that all those calling themselves BN and BN-friendly members to
immediately stop the bickering because this is detrimental to BN,” he said,
adding that BN might lose Mas Gading by default if the squabbling and
back-biting were to go on.
He thus
appealed to BN top leaders to do something and do so before the election.
“Election is
just around corner and all BN members must unite to renew solidarity.
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| Nogeh (middle with SUPP Tasik Biru chairman, Chong during the Chinese New Year Open house. |
“Pakatan
Rakyat is not taking things easy and is all out to win all the seats. We have
seen that and we are hearing PR making the moves,” he said.
Nogeh’s
candidacy also has the backing of PBB Tasik Biru branch.
Its chairman
John Nyigor, publicity chief Patrick Sibon, Youth chief Lobot Jumap and PBB
Opar deputy chairman Asiang Gihep all expressed their full support to Nogeh
during the Bratak Jagoi Gathering (Ngarom Tikuruk Jagoi Bratak) at Brooke
Homestay in Pejiru Bau recently.
Nyigor had
said they fully supported the candidate recommended by SPDP to contest in Mas
Gading.
Representatives
from villages in Jagoi Bratak also expressed similar support to Nogeh, whom
they regarded as the most suitable candidate for BN to contest the Mas Gading
seat in the 13th general election.
They said
they liked Nogeh because he was close to the people and very approachable. His
vast experience as deputy general manager of Sarawak Land Consolidation and
Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) would be useful to make Mas Gading a
socio-economic centre.
They also
said they had trust in Nogeh who would be fair to all races when discharging
his duties and distribution of projects, which they claimed the present MP had
failed to do.
Several
headmen in Mas Gading constituency, meanwhile, denied that they were supporting
Dr Tiki’s re-nomination.
Jimu Nobey
from Spadak said that as far he was concerned he had never expressed his
support for the re-nomination of Dr Tiki.
Instead, he
advised Dr Tiki to take a break and give chance to a new face (Anthony Nogeh)
to contest the seat.
Motion
Sadiap from Stenggang also said he had never said that he supported Tiki’s
re-nomination.
“I only
attended Tiki’s function because he invited me to come. He is the incumbent MP
and I as the headman am obliged to attend his function.
“When we
(village’s headmen) attended his function it doesn’t mean that we are all
supporting him and he should know that.”
SPDP has
recommended Nogeh to replace Dr Tiki as the BN candidate to contest the Mas
Gading seat following the dismissal of Dr Tiki from the party for gross
insubordination early last year.
Minos has
warned SPDP – its coalition Sarawak Barisan Nasional partner – not to lose the
contentious Mas Gading parliamentary seat “by default”.
He said the
current discord between SPDP and its former members – five elected
representatives – was confusing voters.
He said the
continued “bickering” between SPDP leaders and the five, who have formed a
“Kelab BN Sarawak”, will likely cost BN the seat if not stopped immediately.
“Election is
very near, most likely in March, and moves for unity should be made now and not
at or just before election day.
“Do it
before it is too late. BN in Mas Gading must not lose by default, a seat which
it can win easily if not for the internal split,” he said.
Minos, who
is an influential figure in Bau, was referring to the squabbling between SPDP
and members of “Kelab BN Sarawak” over the right to contest in Mas Gading.
The group of
five comprises Mas Gading MP Tiki Lafe, and assemblymen Peter Nansian (Tasik
Biru), Sylvester Entri (Marudi), Paulus Gumbang (Batu Danau) and Rosey Yunus
(Bekenu). All five were were sacked from SPDP in November 2011 following a
crisis with the party leadership.
The five,
who are now partyless, went on to form “Kelab BN Sarawak” in order to justify
them holding office under Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s administration.
Using the
“Kelab BN Sarawak” as a platform, they are demanding that the seat (Mas Gading)
be given to them and they want Lafe to defend the seat.
This goes
against the BN spirit and “understanding” between coalition partners within BN.
‘Don’t
frustrate voters’
Under the BN
understanding, the Mas Gading seat is allocated to SPDP which has nominated Nogeh
to contest the seat.
“The BN
leadership must put a stop to the bickering. If the bickering continues to
escalate further, BN may lose the seat to the opposition.
“I call on
BN leaders to do something to unify the BN groups in the constituency and not
leave things as they are now.
“Voters in
Mas Gading must not be made to feel fed up and so frustrated of the internal
squabbling that they are forced to feel indifferent and go for the opposition.
Should this happen, this is most regrettable,” he said.
Referring to
PKR’s political rally in Bau recently, Minos warned that the opposition’s
efforts to capture Mas Gading should not be taken lightly.
“They are
all out to capture Mas Gading,” he added.
Some 3,000
people attended the function which saw de- facto leader Anwar Ibrahim as the
main speaker.
“The
presence of the opposition leader [Anwar] at the function must not be taken
lightly by BN in order to retain Mas Gading in the coming general election.
“Anwar is of
course fishing in muddy waters, knowing that BN in Mas Gading is not in the
best of conditions.
“However,
history has shown that the Bidayuhs, being the majority, have always been
pro-BN no matter what happened,” he said.
Meanwhile,
Pakatan Rakyat is yet to decide on which partner-party will contest in Mas
Gading.
Both PKR’s
Willy Tumek and DAP’s Mordi Bimol have been active in the constituency.
If both DAP
and PKR want to stand, the chance for Pakatan to win is very slim. Even a
Primary School boy knows that a split vote among Pakatan will certainly give a
great victory for Barisan. This has been a scenerio for the last 50 years. If
we want to have a change just nominate one Pakatan candidate.
SPDP Youth has
left it to the party leaders to decide on the choice of its candidate in Mas
Gading.
Its
secretary Khairuddin Abdul Kadir said if the party has chosen Nogeh as the
candidate, the party youth, women, putera and puteri wings will give their full
supports to the candidate.
“We (youth,
women, putera and puteri) are the party’s machinery and we have put in place
our machineries ready for the election,” said Khairuddin.
Khairuddin
however stressed that they are against any candidate outside the party,
including from the BN Club promoted by Tasik Biru Assemblyman Datuk Peter
Nansian and Dr Tiki.
Meanwhile
SPDP Tasik Biru chief, who is also a member of the party supreme council
Michael Siten said the candidate should be Nogeh as the party has only
submitted his name as the candidate for Mas Gading.
He said
there was no way Dr Tiki be re-nominated as the candidate as the incumbent has
been sacked from the party.
“The deputy
prime minister (Tan Sri Muyiddin Yassin) who is the chairman of the selection
committee for BN candidates has said that no direct BN candidate.
“I believe
he would not have said that if he did not get the blessing from the prime
minister,” added Siten.
Siten
admited that their toughest task in the coming election would come from the BN
Club as he expect the group will whatever means to sabotage BN-SPDP candidate.
“If only the
group work together with BN in the election it would be easy for BN-SPDP
candidate to retain the seat,” he added.
Nogeh’s
candidacy has also received the support of PBB Tasik Biru and Opar as well as
SUPP Tasik Biru and Opar.
However, the
G5 Group under BN Club led by Nansian
and Tiki are said to be still moving actively in Mas Gading promoting the
incumbent Tiki as the candidate in Mas Gading.
The BN Club
members are said to have been meeting with community leaders and planning
activities in the constituency and telling people that Tiki will still be the
candidate despite the announcement made my Muhyiddin recently that there will
be no direct BN candidates in the coming election.
Several weeks
ago the BN Club had a gathering in Kampung Suba Bada, Bau where they formed a
group of 10 people in every village in the Jagoi Bratak area and each group has
been given the fund to operate.
Their modus
operandi is to convince voters in the area to give their support to Tiki as the
BN candidate in Mas Gading.
The group is
also going around convincing the community leaders and the people in Mas Gading
that BN will re-nominate Tiki and not Nogeh Gumbek as the candidate in Mas
Gading.
SPDP vice
secretary-general Paul Igai said he had checked with the Registrar of Societies
(ROS) and was told that the club is an illegal establishment because it has
never been registered with ROS (the application to register the club was
rejected by ROS).
He said
appropriate action is being taken by SPDP and the relevant authorities to stop
the club from continuing with their illegal activities.
It is
believed that the club’s flag and other promotional materials as well as
photographs on their illegal activities has been forwarded to ROS for the
necessary action.
Datuk Peter
Minos in expressing his support to SPDP in Mas Gading has warned the
possibility of the G5 sabotaging BN candidate in Mas Gading.
Opar State
Assemblyman Ranum Mina who expressed his support to SPDP candidacy in Mas
Gading said he have the ‘secret weapons’ to counter the opposition allegations
and accusations against BN in Mas Gading.
Ranum said
he will discuss with SPDP and use the ‘weapon’ to help SPDP-BN candidate in his
election campaign to ensure BN retain the Mas Gading seat.
He said
there was no reason for the voters in Mas Gading to give their votes to the
opposition as it will only bring unnecessary problem to the people in the area.
Ranum who is
SUPP Opar Branch chairman has made an open support to SPDP and its nominee
Anthony Nogeh Gumbek.
Hence, Ranum
called other BN component parties including Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) in
rallying their full support to SPDP to ensure BN retain Mas Gading seat in the
coming election.
Ranum said
he came out to make his open support to SPDP and Nogeh after the deputy prime
minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had made public announcement that all BN
candidates in the in the coming election must come from BN component parties.
Ranum
stressed that there must be working cooperation among all the three BN
component parties in the constituency to ensure BN retain Mas Gading seat.
“We in SUPP
will help SPDP and its candidate (Nogeh) and PBB has clearly and openly
expressed their support. This is a very good cooperation and we must move fast
to counter the opposition propaganda and allegations.
“We need BN
representative in Mas Gading and don’t say that you are from SUPP, PBB or PRS
and you don’t bother to help. It is very important that we all help to ensure
BN victory here,” said Ranum.
Ranum
further said there shouldn’t be anybody to question why SPDP should put its
candidate in Mas Gading, adding that everybody should acknowledged that Mas
Gading has always been SPDP seat.
“If the
candidate from SPDP is Anthony Nogeh then he is the candidate that we all
should support because what is most important we have a representative who can
work for us in at the federal government.
“It is very
clear now that SPDP will get the seat and be fielding their chosen candidate,”
said Ranum.
Ranum
further said Ranum is a qualified person having served Salcra for 17 years as the deputy general
manager and worked together with the people in Mas Gading in developing Salcra
projects in the area.
He said
Nogeh is also a qualified lawyer being the only three from more than 200
lawyers in Sarawak who scored second class in his bar examination in United
Kingdom together with Datuk Wan Junaidi and a chinese lawyer.
“We got to
work together for the success of BN and the people in Mas Gading because we
want continued development and the people in the area,” added Ranum.
Ranum also
promised that he will discuss with SPDP leaders and Nogeh on the strategies to
be used in the campaigns, particularly in countering the opposition allegations
and propaganda.
Many youths
including those from the Chinese community in Mas Gading parliamentary
constituency are now turning their support over to Sarawak Progressive
Democratic Party (SPDP), said the party’s Tasik Biru branch Youth deputy chief
Chong Chun Min.
According to
Chong more than 300 Chinese youths has joined SPDP mainly because they felt at
ease with Anthony Nogeh Gumbek, the SPDP recommended candidate for Mas Gading.
“Previously,
there were not that many Chinese youths who supported SPDP. They used to
support the opposition, but now they support BN because of Anthony Nogeh,” said
Chong.
The
three-term incumbent MP Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe, however, is still harbouring hope
of being re-nominated by BN although he is now partyless alongside four other
sacked SPDP leaders. Together with Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Peter Nansian,
they have organised many programmes involving community leaders.
The
Nansian-led group, who formed the BN Supporters Club, has been promoting the
idea of having Dr Tiki re-nominated as a BN direct candidate.
Meanwhile, SPDP
presiden William Mawan said the chances of SPDP winning the seat is good ever
since another potential candidate Henry Harry Jinep withdrew to pave way for
consolidation within the supporters.
“We know
this is a Barisan stronghold all the while and we are building on that. So if
we work on this basis, Barisan will remain strong.
“But if we
play self-serving politics, then the people will be split. Those who are with
Tiki and his group, Nansian and his group, are somehow still very strong
Barisan supporters,” he said, adding there should no longer be sabotaging
within BN.
He believed
there would be a three-cornered fight in Mas Gading involving BN, Pakatan
Rakyat either DAP or PKR, and State Reform Party (STAR).
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