YB Wong with his supporters during the recent party TGM in Bintulu.

Source: Borneo Post

KUCHING: SPDP vice president Wong Judat yesterday asserted that he was still a BN man and very much in SPDP, casting aside aspersions that that he had put himself in a position that had become an affront to the ruling coalition.

The Meluan assemblyman also denied that he was contemplating leaving BN and SPDP.

“How can I quit BN and SPDP? I am a strongman of SPDP. I am a strong BN supporter. I brought the seat of Meluan to SPDP and therefore to BN,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Wong was clarifying a news report that he was ‘supporting’ the newly registered Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) as he was seen shaking hands with SWP prime mover Datuk Sng Chee Hua, who is tipped to contest under SWP ticket against BN possible candidate Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum in Julau in the coming 13th general election.

On this, he explained that the meeting with Sng at the function in Nanga Entabai, Julau on April 28 was by chance and not by design.

He said the function was a BN ‘Leader-Meet-The People’ session organised by Tuai Rumah Budul, and disclosed that he (Wong) had the letter from the longhouse chief to prove that he was invited to grace it.

“It was not an SWP function. It was my function as a BN assemblyman meeting the constituents,” he explained.

“I still keep the letter of invitation for all to see. It (the Nanga Entabai event) was a BN Leader-Meet-The People function. It was a friend’s event. It was therefore not a SWP function. And Datuk Sng just happened to be there,” said Wong, adding that he would explain the situation further on May 6 at Pakan, Julau.

“I will explain everything in Pakan,” he said. Pakan is an SPDP state seat currently held by its president Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom who is also a senior state minister.

When told that Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) secretary-general Datuk Wilfred Rata Nissom was unhappy with the latest development in Julau, Wong replied that several quarters had capitalised on the issue.

On his take on Salang, Wong said it was indeed true he had personal problems with the PRS vice-president, whom he (Wong) described as not a winnable candidate for BN in the coming polls. He, however, said he had no problems with PRS as a party.

On April 14, Mawan told the press that the personal vendetta between Wong and Salang was real and it was manifested at a particular function where both men (Salang and Wong) were jostling over a microphone to explain what had happened to the stalled RM3 million Nanga Entabai-Rantau Limau road project.

Wong initially won Meluan as an independent by beating Sarawak National Party (SNAP) candidate, the late Geman Itam, in 2001 state polls. Subsequently he joined SPDP when SNAP was deregistered in November 2002.

Wong was known to be vocal at the grassroots level, making him a popular leader with the locals in Julau.

Sng, on the other hand, is a former Julau MP (1995 to 1999) during the era of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) before Salang, the then PBDS treasurer-general, took over from Sng. Salang is currently a federal deputy minister.

Other news article at Borneo Post on this issue:

• Is Wong Judat putting his party SPDP in hot soup?
• Salang has big plans for Julau
• Sng and Wong desperate politicians, says Julau MP

Tan Sri William Mawan ak Ikom

SPDP stands firm in replacing Dr Tiki

KUCHING: Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) will stand firm in not recommending Mas Gading MP Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe to defend his seat for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next parliamentary polls.

In making this stand yesterday, party president Tan Sri William Mawan said the candidate it had in mind would be even more winnable than Dr Tiki.

“The next or new BN candidate in Mas Gading will be more winnable than the incumbent. In fact there are other more credible people in the area,” he told The Borneo Post through the telephone yesterday.

Mawan who is also BN vice-chairman said Dr Tiki was victorious in past elections simply because Mas Gading is a BN stronghold.

SPDP had more than one potential candidate in mind to replace Dr Tiki but it was not the time to make the final decision yet, said Mawan who is also Social Development Minister.

Mawan also hinted that there would be a BN solidarity dinner in Mas Gading in a few weeks’ time.

Dr Tiki is one of the elected representatives sacked from SPDP for undermining party stability and leadership as well as for committing gross insubordination.

The others are state assemblymen Datuk Peter Nansian (Tasik Biru); Datuk Sylvester Entri (Marudi); Rosey Yunus (Bekenu) and Paulus Palu Gumbang (Batu Danau).

On a related issue, Mawan said he had no qualms with these elected representatives continuing to serve their respective constituents as long as they confine themselves to only serving them.

But their politicking in the pretext of serving the people will undermine BN solidarity, Mawan pointed out.

“What we (BN) cannot tolerate is their negative politicking because it would not only undermine BN election preparations but also the party reconsolidation process.

“They should confine their activities to serving the people until nomination day. If that is the case, then of course we have no problem with it,” he added.

Mawan and the five elected representatives were at loggerheads for almost two years when the five were party office bearers. The party leadership crisis ended when all five were sacked by the party.

He said: “The party is moving forward without them and they (sacked members) have moved on without the party.”

He also said he hoped people would stop commenting that the party is in crisis because SPDP is now moving forward and is receiving more membership applications from all walks of life.

SPDP will be having its Triennial General Assembly (TGA) on Mar 18 at the Bintulu Civic Centre. Mawan is expected to be returned as president uncontested.

Source: Borneo Post

To all my Chinese readers, may the Year of the Water Dragon brings you happiness, success and filled with peace, hope and togetherness of your family and friends….Wishing you Gong Xi Fa Cai!

As we enjoy our iced lemon tea, we heard of rumours that Katibas may field a new face. But CM is also still in favour of the incumbent too. Anyway, anything can happen and we can only guess.

Tomorrow, 16th September, Malaysians will be celebrating the 47th anniversary of the formation of Malaysia. Malaysia was formed together with the Federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. The later left Malaysia in 1965 and became an independent city state.

Malaysia is a country which has successfully nurtured tolerance among the people, encouraged national integration and at the same time safeguarded the interests of all races. And, we should be proud being a Malaysian!

We made a quick visit this evening to see if the correct flag has been use. Yupp… the header has been changed and the correct flag being used.

Thank you to the State Information Dept for their fast action to notify the webmaster of the portal. However, the usage of the wrong flag is widely used in Sarawak, which could show the lack of patriotism among Sarawakian today.

Maybe the Information Dept can issue a directive to all agencies, corporate bodies and the media on the correct flag (both horizontal and vertical versions) and their way of usage. During the time of writing this post, we have observed that three types of flag have been wrongly displayed, including the latest one, which uses a ‘fat’ star.

There must be a mechanism to check that the suppliers of the state flag supply the correct one to the public. Worst to worst, the state flag should only be produced/supply by authorised supplier(s) of the state government.

Till then.. selamat hari raya aidilfitri, maaf zahir dan batin to all my muslim readers.

JAMESJG.COM is also confused of which one is the real OFFICIAL version. Look at the pointed end of the star. One is pointing upwards (as shown in the explanation area) and the other have the pointed end pointing downwards (as shown on the header banner).

We hope the Information Department can call for a press conference on which is the OFFICIAL version and how it should be hang.. since our actual Independence Day is fast approaching in September.

JPG format

And here is the PNG format which you can use too, for free.

The idea for the cover design comes from our Iban pua kumbu. The red, yellow, black and white colors are of our State flag as well as regular colors for Iban weaving.

This tri-language dictionary is a must for those who wish to visit the interior of Sarawak where people speaks mostly Iban and Malay.

Thank you to Jaya Ramba, the editor for giving me a free copy. It is sold at RM25 per unit at bookstores in major towns in Sarawak. Get yours today!