Joseph Tawie
Taib Mahmud’s support of sacked Sarawak Progresive Democratic Party’s (SPDP) five elected representatives has led to calls for the party to review its role in BN.
Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud came under heavy criticism from Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) members with at least one grassroots leader calling for the party to review its position in the 14-member national Barisan Nasional coalition.
Venting their angst during the party’s triennial general assembly here yesterday, they said Taib’s support of the errant five former leaders was an “insult” to SPDP leadership.
The former leaders – Mas Gading MP Tiki Lafe and elected representatives Peter Nansian (Tasik Biru), Sylvester Entri, (Marudi), Rosey Yunus (Bekenu) and Paulus Gumbang (Batu Danau) – were sacked from the party in November last year following a two-year quarrel with SPDP president William Mawan.
Instead of dismissing the five members, Taib displayed his arrogance and disrespect towards SPDP and its leadership when he retained Nansian and Entri in his administration, and appointed Yunus as an assistant minister and Gumbang as chairman of the Miri Port Authority.
“This is an insult and disrespect to SPDP and Mawan’s leadership,” said a Pakan delegate who declined to be named.
“Taib has become very arrogant and imposed his dictatorial rule on other BN component parties.
“SPDP should review its position in the BN coalition,” he said.
Another delegate interviewed accused Taib of sheltering the five whom he alleged were “secret members” of Taib’s Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) and who were asked to don the SPDP’s “shirts”.
He felt the five had cheated SPDP.
Several other delegates expressed similar sentiments against Taib.
Mawan warns five representatives
A number of delegates challenged the five members to resign their seats as they were not worthy of the people’s support.
A Meluan delegate, Jerry Clement, said that SPDP should be prepared for the by-elections if Nansian, Entri, Rosey and Gumbang were gentlemen enough to vacate their seats.
After Clement had demanded for their resignations, one after another of the delegates echoed the same sentiment – to the applause and cheers of those present.
Meanwhile, Mawan said the sacked five were not the problem of SPDP alone, but also for the BN.
“Now they are no longer our problem alone, but the problem of BN. There will be decisions to be made, and the decisions would also affect the BN as a whole.
“Whatever the decision the BN will make on the five will set a precedent for the future of BN,” he said.
Mawan also warned the former leaders not to continue to sabotage the party and its leaders, describing such activities as “unethical behaviour”.
“They should also stop manipulating and misleading local community leaders who have been used to disrupt my visit to certain places and my attendance at official functions,” he said.
On the Mas Gading candidate, Mawan said that it would not be fair to his party if its recommended candidate was not endorsed by the BN in the coming general election.
“While the party will not pre-empt the candidate the BN picks, SPDP will stick to its decision on the candidate.
“We just want to exercise our right to nominate our candidate in the seats that have been allocated to us.
“So we hope that the BN will endorse the candidate we nominate for Mas Gading,” Mawan said.
PM to decide
SPDP, which has announced that it would not nominate Tiki to defend the seat, has identified five persons as a possible candidate for the seat. They are Rayan Narong, Anthony Nogih, William Jinep, Henry Jinep and Ik Pahon Joyik.
Meanwhile, Taib, when opening the TGA, assured that SPDP would nominate its candidate for Mas Gading and for the prime minister as national chairman of Barisan Nasional to endorse it.
“What I want to do is for the prime minister to have the privilege of analysing and endorsing the most winnable candidate for Mas Gading,” he said.
The assurance from Taib, who is the chairman of state BN, has brought some relief to the party members as he had one time declared that he alone would determine who should contest in Mas Gading.
Such remarks by Taib had caused some uneasiness in SPDP leadership.
Now Taib has a change of heart. Apparently, he knew the feelings of the delegates who are mostly against his leadership for interfering in the internal problems of the party.
Hornbill Unleashed 
SPDP voters should pull out from supporting BN. What point to support the corrupted one.
Comment by borneo76 — March 21, 2012 @ 10:40 AM |
SPDP will never abandon Taib their sleeping partner in crimes. Mawan is too cosy sucking it up to Taib and too engrossed in picking up the crumbs on the gravy train. Like Masing and Jabu, he has a lot to lose by leaving the BN. This is the sad story of Dayak leaders who play their own people for suckers.
Comment by apaijabu — March 20, 2012 @ 5:23 PM |
The paramount thief minister, as chairman of BN Sarawak, had never opposed the renegade five from forming BN Club to preserve their political career “outside” of BN as they had been sacked by their party. Taib Mahmud’s tacit endorsement of the recalcitrant five for using BN Club to stay relevant and within the corrupted network system was indirectly using them in promoting his own iron grip over the ignorant and naive rural poor Dayaks. He never reprimanded them for making use of village heads or community leaders for signing MOU with the gang of five. Can SPDP leadership and members trust him not to interfere from behind the scene now that he had allowed SPDP to choose its own candidate to contest in Tasik Biru? The sequence of unwanted events leading to Taib’s surprised clarification and announcement was not convincing at all if any politicians in Sarawak know how sly Taib can be. Its never too late for SPDP to quit BN!
Comment by Mata Kuching — March 20, 2012 @ 4:27 PM |
The good and honest people in SPDP, PRS and PBB can move a motion of no confidence against their presidents and seek a referendum to pull out of BN. These political parties do not belong to the corrupted few especially Taib Mahmud, William Mawan and James Masing
Comment by Sylvester Radin — March 20, 2012 @ 8:35 PM |
If SPDP dare going from the door of BN, MACC will chase after them ASAP, many will get into trouble with personal scandals and financial issues. Taib has all their BALLS grabbed in his mighty hands
So pretend to be happy as you SPDP have been, swallow the loss of pride and pain in the ass holes. Return all those 5 seats to PBB Plus, join SUPP for their celebrtation of disaster, waiting to turn again into a mosquito party with BN Sarawak
Comment by Sarawak Anti-Corruption — March 20, 2012 @ 2:58 PM |
Will SPDP dare to get itself out of BN…their owe Taib too much and most of them do not want to lose what they have been enjoying now, the riches from Taib…be it legal or not…..last it was reported that some one Big owe taib a lot for his business…..so SPDP keep on being pull by the nose….what they said in their AGM was only window dressing….But if SPDP is sincere…..the Vote will always be the Mighty weapon.
Comment by rentapsingh — March 20, 2012 @ 11:51 AM |
It’s might be Taib’s plans to break up SPDP. There be no other BN’s components to challenge PBB.
Comment by borneo76 — March 20, 2012 @ 8:47 AM |
BN/Taib is not a solution to spdp squables BN/Taib is the problem.Urgent review of spdp position in sarawak /bn must be done immediately or in short get out from among them now. This Taib is a master of “divide and rule” He is doing the same thing to SUPP.. Sarawakians will applaud Mawan as a hero if he dares to abandon Sarawak BN. Your presence among the Taib absolute rule bn is just a mist and shadow with no rights and respects. Taib has no respects for spdp and by remaining with BN you are a sinking ship. PKR will triumph in the next 13GE.
Comment by Mandela — March 20, 2012 @ 8:37 AM |
It’s a karma, spdp. It’s a karma. Jamal has resurrected; “no peace shall prevail in any bn component parties unless their satanic master of divisions is destroyed”. Better stop looming under the BN flag of gratifications now in our The Fair land Sarawak.
Comment by miaOwkia — March 20, 2012 @ 7:33 AM |
Everybody knows it and Taib knows it very well: he (Taib) has all the money while Mawan has none. Mawan cannot survive without Taib’s money. SPDP cannot survive without being in BN and enjoy Taib’s money. Those who attended SPDP’s meeting at Bintulu, many among them, did so because they came with the hope of getting some money, and also getting recognition by BN so that other goodies from BN will (hopefully) come their way after that, one day. Just look at SNAP when it was in BN, many peoples wanted to associate with it. After it was deregistered, and because of Mawan’s complicity with Taib, everybody shy away from SNAP. It has become a pariah to most people.
With that in the background lets look at the Mas Gading scenario. Taib needed the 4 ADUN in the Gang of Five. Surely numerically 4 ADUN is better than Mawan’s 2 ADUN!. So because Nansen of the 4 ADUN in the gang of Five wanted Tiki Laffe to contest in Mas Gading, and the latter is campaigning like he never did before now in the area probably with enough finance from Taib through Nansen, so Tiki Laffe will be the BN candidate for Mas Gading. Otherwise Taib will not give money to Mawan. Without Taib’s money then Mawan will have to rely heavily on Tiong. And if that happens then Tiong will take over from Mawan well before the next general election to state assembly, and Mawan will go like the Endawie formula of the ’80s. The threat of Taib not financing Mas Gading’s candidate will send shudder to the spine of Mawan and even his so-called winnable listed candidate, with the exception perhaps of Henry Jinep who has good income from Hidmat Negara. But that too will disappear if he dares go against Taib, and he knows it he won’t.
So the frustration expressed by members of SPDP against what they perceived as Taib’s interference in SPDP’s internal affairs, those frustrations are borne out of their sheer ignorance of how SPDP/BN works. Taib is having his hand in every pie in Sarawak. Nothing move without his consent, especially in BN. You can bet your bottom dollar, of course the Gang of Five was the result of the works of inner circle in PBB, with Taib’s blessing. Their ultimate goal is you know as much as I do, perhaps.
Comment by anakmasgading — March 20, 2012 @ 7:15 AM |