By Ling Hui
KUCHING, April 21: Conscious of the tremendous destruction that could befall them and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), the leadership of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) put a stop to the recent power struggle within the party.
An official statement made by PRS secretary-general Datuk Janang Bungsu in the presence of current acting president Datuk Joseph Salang and Datuk John Sikie Tayai, side by side, at PRS headquarters this morning, came just in time to prevent further casualties during the party’s Triennial Delegates Conference (TDC) this coming weekend (April 23 to 24) in Sibu.
With consensus reached between two contending teams that there will be no contest for the presidential and other posts in the upcoming TDC, a vehement party election that could have led to a bloodbath among comrades, has been defused.
No election means no competition, and hopefully there will never be Team A and Team B in PRS again, a party which hat stood strong and united under the leadership of its former president, the late Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing.
After Masing’s passing less than two months before the 12th Sarawak Election (PRN12) last December, PRS was expected to be in disarray but the party held itself together surprisingly well.
Its leaders worked hand-in-hand to weather a tough election and they managed to retain all 11 seats contested, namely Balai Ringin, Bukit Begunan, Batang Ai, Ngemah, Tamin, Kakus, Pelagus, Baleh, Belaga, Murum and Samalaju. It was indeed a sweet victory for PRS in PRN12.
However, with the 15th General Election (GE15) around the corner, PRS along with its fellow Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties cannot afford to be involved in political squabbles, to avoid complications.
PRS did not fare well in the 14th General Election. Out of the six seats allocated to it to contest, it managed to secure only three seats (Sri Aman, Kanowit and Hulu Rajang), losing Selangau, Lubok Antu and Julau. It was dealt another blow when its Sri Aman MP Datuk Masir Kujat jumped ship for Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) which he later also abandoned.
Although other GPS component parties such as Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) performed just as bad, from Janang’s statement, it seemed that the party is conscious of its own responsibility within the big coalition of GPS.
Following that realisation, instead of plotting against each other, it is wise and courageous of the leaders of PRS to quickly put aside their differences and come together as a united team again.
Furthermore, the PRS leadership had also taken into account the image of Dayak leadership as a whole as clearly expressed by what Janang said in the press conference today: “At stake is the public image of PRS as well as the image of the Dayak political leadership, both of which can be adversely affected or damaged if we fail in managing crisis in the party.”
This is another sign of political maturity among the PRS leaders, putting the interest of the Dayak community ahead of their own power and position.
Whether the consensus shall last, we’ll just have to wait until the upcoming TDC.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent
and a time to speak, a time to love
and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
— DayakDaily
