Are Teras members ready to rejoin SPDP?

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Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom

Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom

KUCHING: Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) is rebounding and gaining traction just months after the dust of the recent state polls has settled.

The question on people’s mind now is ‘are Teras members ready to rejoin Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), bearing in mind that members of Teras comprise former SPDP members and new ones?’

Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom, the former president of both SPDP and Teras, apparently wished for a ‘homecoming’ to SPDP, the party he co-founded in 2002.

He told a press conference after the launch of his book ‘Reflections – A Journey of Hope, Aspiration and Perseverance’ here on Sept 21 that he was opened to rejoining SPDP.

The Saratok MP and Pakan assemblyman may be partyless but it seems he wanted members of the two parties to reunite for the sake of greater BN solidarity.

Should that materialise, it would be like a homecoming party for Teras, and for SPDP, it would be like accepting their prodigal sons.

Mawan did not hide his feelings when he said one day his supporters from Teras would be reunited with SPDP.

When pressed further, Mawan said: “If you read an excerpt in the book (Page 8), I said, ‘There is a possibility for us to be united with SPDP. But there is also a possibility for us to be united with PRS and PBB.

“There will always be options: what we see now is that there are various political forces orbiting around the axis (of power) seeking alliances’.”

The feel-good factor of both parties arose when SPDP president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing issued a statement on Sept 19 stating that he wanted to take Mawan and his supporters back ‘as they have never been enemies’.

“Tan Sri William Mawan and his supporters are welcomed back without any conditions because SPDP doesn’t belong to me.

“But the supreme council will convene a meeting if they are really serious in rejoining us,” he said, adding that even though Mawan was SPDP’s former president, he (Tiong) would have to let the supreme council determine the kind of post suitable for him.

“As for his supporters, we also welcome them.

“But we have to screen them first before we can accept them to ensure they comply with the Barisan Nasional principles,” said the Bintulu MP.

With the admission of Teras members into SPDP, it will lessen the headache of state BN chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem, who also wished that another BN-friendly party—United People’s Party (UPP)—could be admitted into BN.

In an exclusive interview with The Borneo Post on Sept 17,

Adenan said it was impossible for UPP and Teras to be admitted into BN due to the ‘principle of unanimity’ that governed the fabric of BN.

“As long as they support BN, that’s all I requested.

“But if they requested to join BN, SPDP will object, SUPP will object. And because of the unanimity principle, they will not be admitted into BN. If they objected, there’s nothing I can do.”

Due to SPDP and SUPP’s stance, Teras has remained just a BN-friendly party.

Facing such a daunting task, Mawan and his supporters tried to join PBB but was turned down because the party could not accept them en bloc.

In its wake, Teras branch leaders and members urged Mawan to re-join and lead the party.

They made their intention known at a large gathering in Saratok Rest House on July 31, at Rejang Restaurant on Aug 27, and at Kuching Park Hotel on Sept 20, albeit subtly with the presence of Mawan as ‘guest-of-honour’.

They have set the reinstatement of Mawan as Teras president as their immediate priority before moving on to pursue the party’s agenda.

But they remain clear and unwavering in their commitment to the BN at federal and state levels.

Unity and political stability in the BN rank uppermost in the hearts and minds of the party grassroots leaders and members. Hence, a stronger and united SPDP will contribute to making BN stronger.