By Lian Cheng
BELAWAI, July 6: Pakan assemblyman Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom is strengthening his support base in Pakan by bringing in more than 1,700 members to Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).
He claimed his constituents had been very supportive of his decision to join PBB.
“They are very supportive of me joining PBB, more than what I have expected. In fact, in the first batch, 1,700 new members followed me to join PBB,” Mawan told DayakDaily at Karnival Pantai Belawai today.
Mawan was formerly president of three political parties. First, he was the president of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP). Then he formed Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), which later changed its name to PDP; and finally, he formed Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras).
In order to contest under the Sarawak Barisan Nasional in 2016, Mawan resigned from Teras, which was not a component party of Sarawak BN, and became a direct BN candidate in the 2016 Sarawak Election.
In the same year, he announced that he was a member of PBB.
To the question whether transitioning from being a party president to just a supreme council member of another party would affect his political progress, he said, “So far so good.”
“We can’t be demanding the moon and the sky all the time. We have to look at the change of circumstances and tackle them one by one,” he said.
Meanwhile, to a question whether he would be defending Pakan in the coming Sarawak Election, he said he would leave the decision to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
Despite so, he believed he had a high chance to be fielded again to defend Pakan for GPS, but he “must work hard on the ground”.
“I have been very active on the ground. No matter what, I have been very loyal to the (Sarawak) government. I am loyal to the party. I am loyal to my grassroots support.
“I still work as hard as I used to be. At the moment, I will just work until I am told to retire,” said Mawan.
Apart from Mawan, other invited guests at the Carnival Pantai Belawai were Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh, Corporate Affairs Assistant Minister Abdullah Saidol, Repok assemblyman Dato Sri Huang Tiong Sii, Jemoreng assemblyman Datuk Dr Juanda Jaya and Tanjung Manis MP Yusof Abdul Wahab.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg launched the event. — DayakDaily
