Ba Kelalan candidate a mystery

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KUCHING: BN’s candidate for Ba Kelalan will only be revealed just before nomination day on April 6.

Its information chief Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem told a press conference here yesterday that the candidate would remain a ‘mystery’ for now.

When asked if Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala, who is also Senator, could be the ‘mystery man’, Adenan, who is also Special Advisor in the Chief Minister’s Department, and all those around him broke out laughing. No replies were forthcoming.

Among those present were PBB deputy presidents Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang and Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, PBB senior vice president Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, PBB secretary-general Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, SUPP president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan and PRS president Dato Sri Dr James Masing.

In all previous elections, the state BN would announce all its candidates at one go. But tradition was broken yesterday when the candidate for Ba Kelalan was wrapped in secrecy.

Ba Kelalan incumbent, Nelson Balang Rining, who is also SPDP secretary-general, was neither seen at the meeting nor at the press conference which was held at PBB headquarters in Jalan Bako.

SPDP president Dato Sri William Mawan was seen leaving the BN meeting well before it ended. It was not known what had prompted his early departure.

When met by a reporter, Mawan uttered: “The candidate (for Ba Kelalan) remains a secret. The PM is aware of that and he will ensure that the BN will field the right candidate.”

When contacted later, a close aide to the party said: “Do not write off Nelson Balang Rining just yet.”

There are speculations that Idris, a Kelabit might be the “winnable candidate” because he is an Orang Ulu.

But some have speculated that an influential group within the BN fold wanted a young Lun Bawang lawyer to stand.

Whoever BN fields, he or she would be up against state PKR’s liaison chief Baru Bian.

When contacted, Baru said by not announcing their candidate, it meant that the BN had doubts about Balang this time around.

“I think they are trying to find a more credible candidate but so far they could not.”

When asked if he knew the young lawyer whose name had been bandied, Baru replied in the affirmative.

“Yes. He (young lawyer) SMSed a friend of mine at a function last night (Saturday) in Ba Kelalan and stated that he might have the chance of becoming a BN candidate.”

Another notable BN tradition which was broken yesterday was that the list of candidates was not announced by Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud. Taib left immediately after the meeting was over leaving the task to Adenan.