By Doreen Ling
KUCHING, Aug 16: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Youth chief Datuk Snowdan Lawan expressed his surprise that four names have stepped up to vie for the post following his decision not to seek re-election at the party’s triennial delegates conference (TDC) this October.
The four are Murum assemblyman Kennedy Chukpai Ugon, Baleh assemblyman Nicholas Kudi Jantai, Tamin assemblyman Ir Christopher Gira Sambang, and Lubok Antu MP Roy Angau Gingkoi.
When commenting on this, Snowdan said he didn’t expect the post to be popular, as he thought only one or two members would be interested in helming the party’s Youth wing.
“The moment I decided to step down as Youth chief, see how many wanted to step up? Four—it means they’ve been waiting for quite some time,” he said.
He said this during a doorstep interview with the media after attending DayakDaily’s ‘Homestay Odyssey’ Writing Competition Awards Ceremony held at the Waterfront Hotel here today.
Snowdan, who is also the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts, commented positively on the four members interested in his current post, noting that this showed that democracy lives in the party.
He also quipped that he was already ‘quite senior’ and that it was time for him to rise in the party’s ranks and give way to younger members to be in leadership positions.
“As I’ve said, I’m not going to defend my post. It’s been long enough—nine years. I have to move up; it’s not logical to say to move down. I’m quite senior already, so I give way to the juniors to also go up,” he said.
Meanwhile, Snowdan also revealed that for the Youth chief post, a candidate would need the endorsement of eight accredited divisions, which is about one-third, to be nominated.
He explained that since 23 out of 38 accredited divisions are eligible to endorse the nomination of a candidate for the Youth chief post, the candidate would need the support of at least eight.
By virtue of his post as Youth chief, Snowdan is also among the seven vice presidents in PRS. — DayakDaily
