KUCHING, Sept 25: The rumour mill is in overdrive over news that Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) Baru has been deregistered.
It is understood that party leaders are now appealing to the Home Ministry not to deregister PBDS Baru.
Its president Bobby William, when contacted, refused to comment on the matter.
“The party will call for a press conference on Saturday (Sept 28),” he told DayakDaily without giving other details.
The Dayak-based party, an offshoot the the now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), was registered in 2013 with lawyer Louis Jarau appointed its first president,
PBDS Baru was among five new parties in Sarawak being approved and registered by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) on Aug 28 that included Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras), Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), Peace Party and Parti Ekonomi Rakyat Sarawak Bersatu (PERSB).
PBDS Baru, formed by hardcore PBDS leaders and members after the party was deregistered in 2004, submitted its application on March 26, 2010.
Social activist and businessman Cobbold John Lusoi was elected president in the triennial delegates conference (TDC) on July 30, 2016, taking over from the founding president.
He defeated veteran politician Patrick Anek Uren. Following Cobbold’s demise due to a heart attack in March this year, Anek took over as acting president.
Bobby, a businessman, was elected the new president at the party’s TDC on May 18.
PBDS meanwhile, was formed by a breakaway Dayak group led by Tan Sri Leo Moggie Irok after he lost to Datuk Amar James Wong Kim Min in a bitter contest for the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) presidency in 1981.
After Moggie stepped down as PBDS president in 2002, a feud ensued between deputy president Datuk Daniel Tajem and former party information chief Tan Sri Dr James Masing, which led to the party’s deregistration.
Masing and his supporters have since joined Parti Rakyat Sarawak. — DayakDaily
