No direct BN candidates in PRU 13

Anthony Nogeh with his supporters during Muhyiddin's visit to Siniawan 

Bazaar.

There will be no Barisan Nasional (BN) direct candidates in Sarawak for the upcoming 13^th 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.

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.”