SPDP president says his party must keep the seats allocated to it no matter which party the three partyless elected incumbents join
KUCHING: The three state assemblymen who stood in the three seats allocated to Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP)under the BarisanNasional (BN) seats distribution agreement as direct candidates in the last state election can join any party they wish.
However, the seats must remain with SPDP and must not be allocated to the party they join.
This was insisted upon by SPDP president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing when asked on his party’s stand on the directive given by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem to the three elected representatives to go back to their constituents to seek their views on their applications to join Parti PesakaBumiputeraBersatu (PBB).
Tiong who is the Bintulu MP is paying Gawai visits to longhouses in Tubau within his constituency said this in a telephone yesterday.
“If our three seats were taken away from us then the spirit of BN’s power sharing is dead and it could spell the end of BN.”
The SPDP president added that his party should be given two of the three seats which were contested by BN direct candidates as they were supposed to be allocated to it in the last election.
“We don’t want to be specific which seats but two of the three seats namely Serembu, Bukit Semuja and Mulu which were contested by direct BN candidates should be given to SPDP,” he said.
Serembu was won by Miro Simuh, Bukit Semuja by John Ilus and Mulu by Dato Gerawat Gala all of whom were PBB members before resigning to contest as BN direct candidates.
Meanwhile, SPDP secretary general Anthony Nogeh Gumbek said the party’s door is always open to those who are former members.
“Our door is always open to those who want to join us including our former members who are elected representatives.” On the proposed merger with United People’s Party (UPP), Nogeh said negotiation is still ongoing as several issues have to be ironed out in the complex exercise.
Meanwhile, SUPP president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian could not be reached at press time for comments.-Borneo Post
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