Sarawak Barisan Nasional Club against Barisan principle, says political analyst

By RINTOS MAIL
rintos@thestar.com.my

Dr. Jeniri Amir

KUCHING: The proposed formation of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional Club will create more problems to the Barisan Nasional coalition, warned a political analyst.

Jeniri Amir, who is a senior lecturer with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), said that condoning its formation would be tantamount to going against the Barisan principle.

He went on to say that allowing the five ex-SPDP elected representatives to pursue their political interest through such club would set a precedent that no other party president would want to condone.

The five ex-SPDP elected representatives are Datuk Peter Nansian Ngusie (Industrial Development Assistant Minister and Tasik Biru assemblyman), Datuk Sylvester Entrie Muran (Water Supply Assistant Minister and Marudi assemblyman), Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe (Mas Gading MP), Rosey Yunus (Family Development Assistant Minister and Bekenu assemblywoman) and Paulus Gumbang (Batu Danau assemblyman).

Recently, Nansian, who is the spokesman for the five, told a press conference that the proposed club would be the new vehicle for them to pursue their political struggle under Barisan.

Nansian also said that a protem committee for the club had been formed and an application to register the club would be submitted to the Registrar of Societies after the Chinese New Year celebration.

“The purpose of forming the club is to gather and continue the support of the people in our respective seats for Barisan. We believe through the club we will be able to show our unity and solid support behind Barisan.

“So far, the response to the club has been good and we hope Barisan will appreciate it,” Nansian told newsmen after a ceremony to take down the SPDP signboards and replace them with new signboards bearing the name “Pusat Khidmat Wakil Rakyat Barisan Nasional” at his service centre and that of Dr Tiki’s in Bau recently.

Jeniri, however, argued: “If you allow some individuals who have been sacked from a Barisan component party to form a club just to remain in the coalition, its implication is far-reaching not just to the party involved but also to Barisan as a whole.

“The formation of the club, if condoned by Barisan, will create confusion, cause splits and weaken the coalition.”

According to Jeniri, there is no need for such a club to be formed because Barisan is a coalition of political parties and not a club.

He said the action of the five ex-SPDP elected representatives to form the club was actually sending a wrong message to Barisan members and followers.

“Imagine, what will happen if it happens in PBB, which is the biggest party in Barisan?” he asked.

Jeniri said Barisan should go by its principle and take serious action against the five. He said the five had been sacked by SPDP, which is a component of Barisan, and they should not be allowed to park or form such a club for their own survival.

“I believe Barisan has its own standard operating procedure to deal with cases like this. “It should follow the procedure, abide by the principle and maintain its consistency,” he said.

Jeniri suggested that the five should just quit totally from their present posts in the government.

“They are talking about principle, but why are they not abiding by the Barisan principle. “They are out of SPDP. Because SPDP is a component of Barisan they should be out from Barisan too,” he said.

Nansian and his group had decided to group themselves under the proposed club after their membership in SPDP was terminated in December last year.

Before that, the party had sacked Datuk Sylvester Entrie Muran, Water Supply Assistant Minister and Marudi assemblyman, for insubordination.