SPDP think tank not in full gear

KUCHING: The Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party’s (SPDP) think tank has yet to run in full gear.

The think tank, aimed to allow younger members to play a bigger role within the party and society, has not taken off although the party has been toying with the idea for some time.

SPDP president Dato Sri William Mawan Ikom said recently that no candidate had been found to commit 100 percent to running the think tank and who was also strong enough to bring members together.

He described the think tank as a ‘high powered’ group that could organise bigger forums for thousands to participate in.

Mawan, who is Social Development and Urbanisation Minister, said with the think tank in place, members would be able to contribute and exchange ideas or just speak their mind.

“Our party wants all to have a sense of belonging. There are many forums and proper channels from which party members can contribute positively towards the party as well as society,” he said when contacted.

He added: “The party needs to inject fresh ideas. The younger members need to contribute and participate in party growth. SPDP needs to re-consolidate from time to time. One of the avenues which members can contribute in is through the think tank because it encompasses economic, social and educational aspects.”

Mawan said he visualised a group of people who could lead and provide a 100 per cent commitment to the party think tank, but did not name possible leaders.

He said the group would play an advisory role, update the supreme council and report to the president.

It could be set up by the supreme council on an ad hoc basis, he said, without the need to follow the constitution simply because there was no provision on such a group.

However, whoever ran it must come up with a mechanism and body structure, he said, adding that it would be important for key members to be neutral and impartial.

Recently, SPDP has been troubled by the ‘misadventure’ of five supreme council members known in the media as the ‘SPDP Five’.

Led by senior vice-president Datuk Peter Nansian Ngusie, who is Assistant Minister of Environment, the group protested the party’s last minor reshuffle, which saw vice-president Nelson Balang Rining getting the post of secretary-general.

Jamesjg.com thought that it was Sylvester Entrie that led the walk-out. Maybe Datuk Peter Nansie led the protest group and Sylvester Entrie led the walk-out.

Nelson, who is Ba Kelalan assemblyman, replaced Assistant Minister of Water Supply, Sylvester Entrie Muran, who was promoted to vice-president.

Mawan said that all of its eight representatives would be re-nominated by the party to defend their seats for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next state election unless Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud decided otherwise.

Apart from Mawan (Pakan), Nansian (Tasik Biru), Entri (Marudi), the others are Datuk Peter Nyarok Entrie (Krian), Rosey Yunus (Bekenu), Paulus Palu Ngumbang (Batu Danau) and Wong Judat (Meluan). Nyarok is also SPDP deputy president as well as Assistant Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture.

SPDP plans to organise a BN Solidarity Dinner here next month as part if its efforts to consolidate and to enhance its relationship with other BN component parties.

Source: The Borneo Post, 10th April 2010.

Updated: 12 April 2010

Ever since this news was published on the Borneo Post, a few names has reached my ears. Audie has his prediction and we will let the President to have the honor to announce the name officially.

His guess may be as good as mine! Cheers..

From SarawakUpdate.com

A senior academician at local varsity were among the names that have been identified by Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) to be in the party high powered think tank. More here.

To those youth in Miri who would like to join Dayak Association Miri, kindly contact myself or visit their website for further info.

File pix: 9th Nov, 2009. Kg. Lusut, Miri

KUCHING: The President of SPDP has commented on the effort of “the disgrunted five” to speed up the merger as “good”, but he advised that it should have been done in accordance with the regulations and “order of things” within the party.

“It is a good initiative, a good effort, but I hope they can bring it up to the Supreme Council meeting on Feb 28, and report on any progress that they might have made,” Mawan told the reporters at Wisma Bapa Malaysia after the State Cabinet meeting yesterday.

SPDP Senior Vice-President, Datuk Peter Nansian, had recently told a press conference in Kuching that he saw no reason why the proposed merger between SPDP and PRS, which was mooted some five years ago, should be delayed. Also present at that press conference were Vice-Presidents Sylvester Entri (Marudi Assemblyman) and Datuk Tiki Lafe (Mas Gading MP), Paulus Palu Gumbang (Batu Danau Assemblyman), Rosey bte Haji Yunus (Bekenu Assemblywoman), Cr Eda Igar, and Supreme Council members George Garai and Peter Gani. Wong Judat (Meluan Assemblyman), another committee member, was not present.

Mawan also stressed that being an open-minded person, during the coming Supreme Council meeting, he would discuss what had since transpired with the so-called ‘group of five’ pushing for immediate merger with Party Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).

“I guess that is just to regularize certain things.  I think we have to follow the order of things because we have the committee (the merger committee headed by Datuk Peter Nyalok).  I have always been for the merger.  If you read my statement last December, I was talking about it.  And I am also grateful to PRS for their sudden explosion of interest of the whole thing,” said Mawan.

He described the merger effort of the five as “individual effort” and clearly stated that he would not “condemn this sort of thing”.

“You met something, you stumble upon something, later on you report and we can share the glory and the success of it, what is wrong with that?  I don’t want to see ghosts behind every shadow.  They are my friends and my YBs (chosen representatives).  Whatever feeling they might have had, whatever perception or interpretation that people might have had, I don’t see it that way,” Mawan pointed out.

However, he warned that as they were all highly charged individuals and politicians, they should be careful to avoid making statements such as to imply that “he (Mawan) was being controlled by someone”. He termed such statements as “punching below the belt”.

Source: Eastern Times

Can the five SPDP YBs make it back to Kuching from Kapit on Sunday, in time to report the recent merger (individual) initiatives, during the SPDP Supreme Council meeting?

by Geryl Ogilvy Ruekeith
February 22, 2010, Monday
Source: Borneo Post

KUCHING: The disgruntled group of five elected representatives from Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), who walked out of last month’s supreme council meeting, is seeking  an “immediate merger” with Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).

Senior vice-president and Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Peter  Nansian Ngusie who took the role of group  spokesman,  in  a press conference held yesterday, declared that they are not joining PRS en bloc as earlier speculated but will “merge earlier” with PRS.

“Our group wants to merge earlier with PRS. The rest (from SPDP) can join later,” Nansian said at the press conference which was held at SPDP’s previous headquarters at Batu Kawa MJC New Township here.

“On the details of the merger (and the name of the new entity), we can work on those things later. Let us merge first,” he added.

Some members of the press were heard saying: “Merger with or into?”

Apart from Nansian, other members of the  group of  five are ousted  secretary-general Sylvester Entrie Muran (Marudi assembly-man), Paulus Palu Gumbang (Batu Danau assembly-man), Rosey Yunus  (Bekenu assemblywoman), Wong Judat (Meluan assembly-man) and Mas Gading MP Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe.

They  jointly  signed a press statement with three party supreme council members namely, Eda Igar, George Garai and Peter Gani.

The statement said, amongst others, their move to merge with PRS “is simply to expedite the vision and objective of both parties”.

Former information chief Sim Hang Seng was also present during the press conference.

According to Nansian, Meluan assemblyman Wong Judat was also with the group but that he could not come due to ‘transport problem’.

In front of the reporters, Nansian called up Wong and asked him if he agreed with the proposed merger.

With the telephone on speakerphone mode, Wong responded saying that he supported the merger for the sake of Dayak unity.

Asked why the group did not invite Mawan, Nansian said there was no need to.

On their move to expedite the merger, Nansian said: “The journey of a thousand miles start with little steps. We  are  doing  it first because the members of both parties want it, the state BN leadership is encouraging it and there is no more reason to hold back because the merger would only strengthen the BN government. Now it is up to PRS to agree before we can set the motion.

He added: “(As far as our group is concerned), we want to trigger it off so that the merger can happen,” he said, adding that the merger had been long outstanding since it was proposed some five years ago.

He went on to say that both he and Entrie are members of the SPDP sub-committee for the merger since the idea surfaced five years ago, and thus have the mandate to act on the matter.

Entrie was also the sub-committee’s secretary.

Earlier Nansian read the joint press statement which said: “We, the undersigned, agree to merge with PRS in order to consolidate rural-based constituencies. This proposed merger had been agreed by SPDP supreme council and we believe the same is true on PRS’ side. The PRS supreme council, we were told, had agreed to merge with us. Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership at state level also agreed in principle for the rural-based parties to merge.

“Therefore, the move by us to merge with PRS is simply to expedite the vision and objective of both parties. It will strengthen BN in the rural areas especially in the Dayak-held constituencies.

“However, from our feedback, PRS leadership is not keen to merge with SPDP due to some personalities in the current line-up in SPDP. It is our hope that this group of SPDP Wakil Rakyat (6) and some supreme council members are acceptable to PRS leadership.

“This move is done with the sole objective of realising our long outstanding dream and vision of consolidating rural-based constituencies which both PRS and SPDP leaders initiated five years ago.”

Asked by reporters on those ‘personalities’ meant in the statement, Nansian replied that the question should be posed to PRS leaders instead.

To another question, he said the group had yet to speak to PRS president Dato Sri Dr James Jemut Masing.

Nonetheless, Nansian said, he did mention that they are putting up an offer to Masing for the merger to happen. On why they chose the old SPDP headquarters and not the new one at Jalan Badruddin, he said this was the official correspondence address for the party.

“This is the official SPDP headquarters, as this was still the one approved by ROS (Registrar of Societies). This is the correct place for the party,” he said.

Other views on this issue

• Disciplinary action..
• SPDP group wants merger
• SPDP-PRS merger to strengthen BN

Beside politics and setting up of political club, I see this as a business opportunity. Imagine 40,000 Ibans eating upa pantu for their meal.. ok ok take 1/3 of the 40,000 Ibans.. can you imagine the demand of upa pantu, ikan telipia Lubok Antu, ikan terubok masin, belacan Bintulu, illegal production of Iban VCDs, etc.. and maybe high time to set up a private mini Iban radio station in Johor Baru.

Dato Sri William made a wise move by apologising to SUPP on his recent remark on seat allocation for the BN component parties in Sarawak. Not many party President had openly apologise to another party or the general public over remarks they had made. Full news report here.

Out of context, I believe politicians should be brave enough to apologise for their ‘mistake’ or inability to serve the rakyat. It may not be what the YB wants, but sometimes these YBs should be responsible for the act of the agencies which are under them or within their constituency. Like the recent delivery of ‘fresh’ water supply to Sepupok Niah.

The YB or head of department may not have send the directive to deliver muddy water, but, they should take note of the quality of the deliveries. 1Malaysia or an Honour to Serve will be meaningless if the subordinates do not understand it and still take things for granted.

An investigation should be carry out to identify the culprit. What if the water delivered were contaminated? The lives of many rural communities would be in danger.

Kepada pegawai kerajaan yang terlibat, berfikir la sebelum buat.. Kalau anda tiday dapat meminum air itu, kenapa nak hantar juga? Tak boleh ke tanya pegawai atasan untuk mencari penyelesaian?

The statement by Dato Seri Tiong is something new to SPDP members. Most members would not be aware of it. Some may be aware of SPDP forming ‘club’ in Peninsular Malaysia, with the current formation of SPDP Club in Johor Baru, where 40,000 Ibans reside. Let us see if this move gets the support from its delegates during their coming TGM in December.

Extract from Malaysiakini

If this failed, said Ong, a Sarawak-based multiracial party would move into Peninsular Malaysia “to destroy MCA”. Alternatively, a newly-formed multiracial party would serve as a vehicle for dissidents to join Barisan Nasional (BN), thereby replacing MCA.

Tiong confirmed that SPDP, in which he is treasurer, has plans to set up branches in the peninsula. Describing this as a national issue, he slammed Ong for trying to obstruct his party’s expansion because of “a personal vendetta”.

He pointed out that MCA is a race-based party, while SPDP has a multiracial membership profile. As such, Ong “has no business meddling with the expansion plan”.

“We are all BN component parties, so what’s wrong with making inroads into Peninsular Malaysia? Some with a narrow political mindset think that parties from the peninsula can go into Sabah and Sarawak, but not vice versa,” Tiong reportedly said.

“Many new parties have been established in the peninsula. Why didn’t he make noise then?”

Asked why a Sarawak party would want to move into the peninsula, Tiong explained that the last general election had proved to be a watershed in politics.

“Many voters and members of political parties are disillusioned with the way BN and its component parties are run, but they don’t want to cross over to the opposition .

“So expanding SPDP would give them a choice (to join a new party) as we’re still under the BN banner. Does this mean it will destroy MCA and destablise BN?”

Dr. Chan responding to Dato Seri William and Dr. James Masing on issue of Kidurong state seat.

By Churchill Edward and Saibi Gi
Source: The Borneo Post

Mawan, Masing say time to allocate constituency to another BN party since seat lost twice consecutively

KUCHING: Senior Barisan Nasional (BN) Dayak leaders believe that if there is to be any re-distribution of seats among the coalition parties, the Kidurong state constituency should be prioritised.

Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) president Dato Sri William Mawan Ikom and Parti Rakyat Sarawak president Dato Sri Dr James Masing said they felt that this was apt, saying since the BN had lost twice consecutively in Kidurong, it may be timely that another BN component be given a chance to contest there in the next state polls.

Mawan and Masing were responding to a suggestion by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin that BN should review allocation of seats among component parties to suit the needs of the electorate.

Mawan suggested a review of Kidurong when he said: “BN has lost the seat to DAP twice consecutively (in the state polls of 2001 and 2006) whereas every time (SPDP treasurer-general) Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing contested in the (Bintulu) parliamentary seat (which includes Kidurong state constituency), the BN won,” he said.

Masing who also felt the Kidurong state seat should be subjected to review, said: “BN will have to discuss how best not to lose that seat again.”

Mawan and Masing both revealed that the BN had an understanding that if a component party had lost twice consecutively in a particular constituency – be it parliamentary or state – the seat would be subjected to a review.

According to the two leaders, seat arrangement is not only a strategy but a serious matter to ensure a BN victory at all cost in the next state election, due latest by early 2011.

Kidurong has been allocated to Sarawak United People’s Party headed by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan.

SUPP had lost the state seat twice to DAP’s Chiew Chiu Sing.

Apart from Kidurong, BN also lost in the Bandar Kuching parliamentary seat to the DAP twice consecutively – in 2004 and 2008 parliamentary elections.

The BN allocated this seat to SUPP twice but they lost it to state DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen.

Mawan, also Minister of Social Development and Urbanisation, said he supported Khaled’s suggestion.

“To me, it has always been the understanding among BN components that the allocation of seats be reviewed from time to time or when the need arises. As a matter of principle the BN should also talk about it,” he said.

“That need arises if, for instance, BN loses a particular seat twice consecutively,” he added.

Mawan said when one talked about seat redistribution, the overall interest of the BN must come first rather than that of individual component parties.

“The minister’s (Khaled) suggestion is something we should be looking into because it is very practical. As far as he and the BN in West Malaysia are concerned, he has hit the nail on the head.

“If BN loses again in any particular seat, we can say that BN as a whole is losing. So it is imperative for the BN to gain public confidence and return to its winning ways,” he said.

“Any individual component should not be self-centred. What is the point of being self-centred when one drags BN to lose seats? This will slowly weaken the BN and erode the spirit of teamwork,” he said.

“If a review is made, component parties must not interpret this as a ‘plus or minus’ thing but rather a strategy to win seats or win back seats it has lost,” he said.

According to him, if BN wins big the next time around, interest of every component party will be better taken care of.

On the Sarawak front, Mawan said he would let the BN leadership decide on seat allocation because this, according to him, is a major strategy rather than plan to boost the self -esteem of any individual party.

He said boosting self-esteem was something that could not be entertained in this current political time.

Masing who is the Land Development Minister, said Khaled was basically referring to the state of the BN in Peninsular Malaysia when he suggested his idea.

Nonetheless, he said even though the BN seat arrangement in Sarawak seemed to be working better than that in the Peninsula, the state BN must study the impact of such review carefully.

“The minister’s (Khaled) suggestion is something worthwhile looking into because of demographic changes which can occur in any seat over a period of time. This has been the understanding of the state BN,” he said.

According to Masing, there are things which the BN must tackle urgently to win back lost seats, including the swapping of seats among components.

Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice president Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman said the state BN would only review seat arrangement if the grassroots demanded it.

However, the state BN may not want to disrupt the equilibrium of power by subtracting or adding seats of component members.

According to Daud, the state BN may want to maintain the status quo when it comes to the numbers’ game.

“PBB may be the backbone of BN in Sarawak but PBB will never resort to taking away seats already allocated to other components,” he insisted.

“What may happen is the swapping of seats by taking into account what the grassroots want,” he said.

He said he believed the allocation of seats depended heavily on the strength of parties in areas they represented.

“We must go back to the reality that BN’s victories in elections depend very much on the votes of the majority and that BN subscribes to the concept of power-sharing,” he said, urging component parties to be mindful of the political sensitivities surrounding the issue.

“BN elected representatives serve all races and communities regardless which component they come from,” he said.

PBB Youth chief Fadillah Yusof, meanwhile, said BN elected representatives must have quality and integrity as well as the sincerity to serve the people.

He said he agreed with Khaled’s suggestion to study the demography of each area when BN should decide to review seat allocation.

This is just what charity dinner organisers needed. A good reminder to those Super Pledgers to pay up what you have pledge over the years (for some).

Having involved in organising dinners and having to jot down the amount pledge by Datuk Datuk, Datin Datin, YB YB and etc.. the job of following up with this pledges is sure a lengthy one. I have a few that has been in our minutes of meeting for years, and soon it will appear again during our BGM!

This year our Bidayuh brother was the organiser of the Divisional Gawai Dayak. They too faced the same problem. It sounds so easy for YB YB Datuk Datuk to pledge during this event and during the committee meeting, things are said and requested as if the organiser have tonnes and tonnes of fund to organise it.

There is also cases of troupe members (yalarr the people who perform during dinners) who are being promised of some token money, and if the amount are in the millions (well some million are only good on paper – and that too involve poor rural commuities), we can understand, but if it involve RM10, RM30 per person.. aiyooo! Cakap pun tarak guna! Bayar lah secepat mungkin and let not minute itover and over, year after year.. konon nya waiting for MRP this and MRP that, budget this and budget that..

The best principle is YB YB Datuk Datuk – DON’T PLEDGE IF YOU CAN’T DELIVER IT WITHIN THE NEXT 30-DAYS.. because during the next 30 days, we will be having our post mortem meeting! That’ll be minute in our minutes of meeting.

Today, when this YB YB Datuk Datuk pledge, we buat dhuhhh saja. Because for a very simple reason.. we can only appreciate it when we see the cheque.