"You Rock!" That is what I like to say to DS William Mawan if I met him. Both on August 29 and November 7, 2009 press released, he promised to go by the status quo of all the elected and appointed portfolios for the reason to maintain the stability within the party.
But on January 23, 2010, during the party's supreme council meeting, he breached his promised and rock the boat. The most bruising matter was the dropping of Sylvester Entri Munan and the post of Secretary General was replaced with Ba’Kelalan state assemblyman Nelson Balang Rining.
Obviously, nobody is going to drag DS William Mawan to court for breaching his promise but a political storm seems to be brewing in the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) as some unhappy party members and leaders are said to be planning to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM). Supreme council member Peter Gani’s demand that Mawan resign and make way for a new leader was “uncalled for’’. Gani, also a former political secretary to the Chief Minister.
Party members claimed the reshuffle runs contrary to “an agreement” reached by the SPDP top leadership on maintaining the status quo after the party polls at the end of last month when almost all office bearers retained their positions unopposed.
Entri was given one of the posts of appointed vice-president but he declined to accept it, claiming that Mawan had reneged on his promise.
“I am unhappy as I feel have been cheated by the president who had promised to retain the status quo in the party. He was the one asking for the status quo before the party elections and we obliged,” said Entri as quoted by Bernama. Entri, who is the state assemblyman for Marudi and Sarawak Assistant Minister of Public Utilities, called a press conference to explain what had transpired at Saturday’s supreme council meeting and why he had declined the position of vice-president.
According to Entri, “There was no consultation and consensus among the supreme council members. We were all caught by surprise and the moment I realised that I had been dropped, I got up and walked out of the meeting,”
Party sources revealed that the removal of Entri sparked a walkout by three state assemblymen, an MP and three members of the supreme council from the meeting. The assemblymen are Peter Nansian (Tasik Biru), Rosey Yunus (Bekenu) and Paulus Gumbang (Batu Danau); the MP, Dr Tiki Lafe (Mas Gading) and the supreme council members, George Garai, Peter Gani and Ida Iga.
Who was behind the dropping is already known but yet to be revealed.
No comments: