CM not bothered by Meluan rep’s saga
by Geryl Ogilvy Ruekeith, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 24, 2012, Tuesday
KUCHING: Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud seems unperturbed by Meluan assemblyman Wong Judat’s announcement on Saturday that he would be quitting SPDP and join recently-registered Sarawak Workers Party (SWP).
In fact, the state BN chairman considered the matter to be only “a small thing”.
“You really want me to comment on a small thing like that?” he asked reporters when approached at his office in Wisma Bapa Malaysia yesterday before he proceeded to chair the annual general meeting of the Sarawak Heart Foundation (SHF).
Taib had earlier witnessed a mock cheque presentation from Sarawak Foundation (Yayasan Sarawak) to SHF, of which Taib is chairman.
Yayasan Sarawak director Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki presented the RM50,000 contribution to SHF Board of Trustees member Datuk Anne Teng.
Wong Judat, who is also SPDP vice-president, told reporters on Saturday after a SWP-organised ‘Pentas Rakyat’ function in Kanowit that he would officially quit SPDP on July 31 in order to contest in Julau against MP Datuk Joseph Salang in the 13th general election.
His announcement was not really a surprise because he had, for months, said he would take on Salang if the PRS vice-president was nominated again.
However, Wong maintained that he was not against BN or SPDP, saying he and SWP were only against PRS. Wong said he was adamant to contest against Salang, who is also Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, because it was the wish of the people in Julau.
He claimed the people wanted a local to represent them; a local who understands their needs and aspirations, and one who will distribute development projects fairly.
Wong has a chequered political past. He was a member of the now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) but because he wanted to contest against a fellow BN member in the 2001 state election, he quit PBDS and became an independent candidate. He managed to beat SNAP candidate, the late Geman Itam, then.
He then joined SPDP and contested in the 2006 state election, beating SNAP’s Labang Jamba and Independent Jenggie Malaka.
He won under the BN-SPDP ticket in the 2011 state election, beating PKR John Brian Anthony and SNAP’s Labang.
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