Final curtain for Snap as founder's son joins new party
With the admission of Richard Wong Shoon Fook, the last elected representative of the de-registered Sarawak National Party (Snap), into the newly-registered Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDC), Snap's 40-year history as a political party is seen as good as finally closing.
The Limbang state assemblyperson handed in his application to SPDP pro tem president William Mawan (photo) at 10 o'clock last morning before the party's supreme council meeting in Kuching.
This renders academic Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's pending position on the appeal against the Registrar of Societies' decision to de-register Snap or the outcome of any appeal to the court.
With the admission of Richard Wong Shoon Fook, the last elected representative of the de-registered Sarawak National Party (Snap), into the newly-registered Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDC), Snap's 40-year history as a political party is seen as good as finally closing.
The Limbang state assemblyperson handed in his application to SPDP pro tem president William Mawan (photo) at 10 o'clock last morning before the party's supreme council meeting in Kuching.
This renders academic Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's pending position on the appeal against the Registrar of Societies' decision to de-register Snap or the outcome of any appeal to the court.
Wong, the former Snap senior vice-president and eldest son of former Snap president James Wong Kim Min (photo), was the last vital link to the party.
He was also the last in the Wong political family, who had been expected to take over the party from his father who was already well on in years and already declaring himself as good as out of politics.
'New' political career
With his entry into SPDB, described as a rehabilated Snap, Wong Jr, a businessman, appears to be carving anew his political career. SPDP pro tem president Mawan, who is also the state minister of environment and public health, has said Wong will be appointed to a senior party post at the forthcoming Feb 8-9, 2003 triennial general assembly in Kuching.
SPDB now has seven state assembly representative and four members of Parliament.
Yesterday's SPDB supreme council also approved the application of the independent state assemblyperson for Meluan, Wong Judat, an Iban businessman, into the party. He was a member of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) led by federal Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Multimedia Dr Leo Moggie.
Judat beat the official BN candidate from Snap, Geman Itam, in the last state elections. His entry into SPDB is largely seen as a 'bonus' to the party, increasing the number of BN state assemblypersons in the 62-member state assembly to 61. The last seat is held by Chiew Chin Sing, the Bintulu representative from DAP.
Snap was de-registered Nov 5, 2002 and SPDP was registered soon after.
