ANSWERING THE PRESS: Adenan (centre) fields questions from reporters. He is flanked by PBB deputy information chief Datuk Peter Minos (right) and supreme council member Datuk Idris Buang.
KUCHING: Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) has denied it wants to contest in the Krian state seat, which comes under the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).
PBB information chief Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenen Satem said talk of PBB contesting in Krian, which was reported in an Internet news portal, was nothing more than an attempt to wage war between the two state Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties.
Speaking to reporters after chairing a PBB Convention publicity committee meeting, he questioned the validity of the claims and the source of the story.
“All I can say is there is somebody out there who is trying to sour the relationship between PBB and SPDP. They will not succeed, because our relationship has always been very good,” he said.
When asked on the possibility of seat swapping before the 11th state election, he laughed and replied: “We will cross the bridge when we come to it.”
The Internet news portal had suggested in a report last Friday that certain PBB leaders were keen on the party contesting in Krian since it now has 2,500 members in the constituency, 600 of whom are new.
Under the heading ‘PBB to contest the Krian state seat?’, the report claimed former Saratok Member of Parliament Jelaing Mersat was behind the surge of new recruits.
Jelaing, who represented Saratok for two terms and was a deputy minister, is reportedly still bitter because SPDP dropped him during the last parliamentary election for its president Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom, who went on to win the seat.
According to the report, Jelaing has resigned from SPDP and is now encouraging PBB to take over Krian.
SPDP has contested the Krian seat since it replaced the now-defunct Sarawak National Party (SNAP) in 2002.
However, it lost the seat in the 2011 state election when then deputy president Datuk Peter Nyarok Entrie lost to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) newcomer Ali Biju.
Ali won by a 2,090-vote majority in a four-cornered fight.
However, he lost to Mawan in the Saratok parliamentary seat.
In a response last Saturday, SPDP secretary-general Datuk Nelson Balang Rining insisted the party will still contest in Krian and that there had been no discussions with PBB on swapping any seats.
Nelson also stated that the report was an attempt to disparage SPDP.
Meanwhile, sources in SPDP said several capable and professionally-trained potential candidates have been identified to lead SPDP’s charge to win back Krian.
The other state seats allocated to SPDP are Pakan (currently represented by Mawan), Tasik Biru, Meluan, Marudi, Batu Danau, Bekenu and Ba Kelalan.