What Krai says about Dr Rayong’s admission into BN

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KUCHING: The acceptance of independent Engkilili assemblyman Dr Johnical Rayong into the Barisan Nasional (BN) fold was said to have tickled his constituents, particularly those who supported the BN in the 2006 state election.

SUPP Engkilili branch senior member Johnathan Krai Pilo said to The Borneo Post yesterday, that Dr Rayong’s admittance into the BN had put lots of questions in the minds of the rakyat in the constituency.

“This is because it is still fresh in their hearts and minds that in the last state election campaign, it was the same Dr Rayong who condemned the BN government, under the leadership of our beloved Chief Minister Pehin Sri (Abdul Taib Mahmud).

“To them, the BN leaders have swallowed their own words when at one stage they said independent candidates will not be accepted, but at another time what is being done is totally different,” he said.

He said the most difficult task for him now was to convince the people on the ground, especially those who could still remember the contents of Dr Rayong’s 2006 election campaign leaflets.

“The problem we are going to face is that most people now cannot be easily fooled or bluffed. Therefore, it will not be a surprise that we will have more independent candidates coming up in the next state election, including in Engkilili,” he said.

He said this was because everyone now knew that at the end of the day, independents too would one day be accepted into the BN.

Nevertheless, Krai thanked the chief minister, who is State BN chairman, for accepting the Engkilili assemblyman into the BN fold.

“I also would like to thank our party Central Working Committee (CWC) and the president (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan) for accepting him (Dr Rayong) as a party member on Sept 20, 2010.

“Dr Rayong’s admission into the BN and the dispensing of minor rural project (MRP) grants in Engkilili does not mean that this seat is safe.

“Engkilili is still a ‘grey area’. This is mainly because of the lack of consultation with the SUPP, Engkilili branch office bearers prior to the acceptance of Dr Rayong into the party. Our branch chairman Tong Heng San was also not even informed about the decision,” Krai added.

He said at the moment the people in Engkilili would wait and see before considering their next course of action.

“On my part, I’m appealing to all party members in Engkilili to give Dr Rayong their undivided support to ensure that the BN can win the seat in the coming election,” he said.

In the May 2006 election, Dr Rayong who was contesting on a Sarawak National Party (SNAP) ticket, garnered 3,442 votes to defeat Krai by only 426 votes in a straight fight.

Later on he declared himself as a BN-friendly independent and at a later stage applied to join SUPP where he was finally accepted into the party and now into BN fold.

He is the second independent assemblyman to have been admitted into the BN fold after Wong Judat.

Judat, the current elected representative for Meluan, in the 2001 election also won the seat as independent but later applied to join Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and was accepted.