Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) information chief and presidential aspirant Dr James Masing has denied reports that he and his supporters will pull out from PBDS to form a new party if they lose in the forthcoming party elections.

In an exclusive interview with malaysiakini in Rumah Peter in Balleh, Kapit last night, Masing brushed aside reports of a new party that is linked to his group being formed and will be known as Parti Kitai (Iban meaning "Our Party").

"It's not going to happen," he said although conceding that some of the party's elected representatives had broached that subject with him.

Magnanimity

Masing, who is also the state minister of social development and urbanisation, said the forthcoming contest in the party elections, widely expected now in early August, should be "a family affair", indicating that winners should be magnanimous enough to accommodate the losers in future leadership set-up.

It should be held in the same spirit as in the year 2000 triennial delegates conference (TDC) in which he lost to Daniel Tajem for the deputy president's post.

He said no PBDS leader should make the same mistake as Leo Moggie, PBDS incumbent president, did when he (Moggie) and other Iban leaders pulled out of the Sarawak National Party (Snap) after a bitter party election and formed PBDS. He did not elaborate.

Masing's comments are seen as an attempt to put a stop to persistent rumours circulating in recent weeks that he and his supporters, who include nine out of the party's 14 elected representatives, are likely to quit the party en bloc if they failed to wrest control of the party's top posts.

Masing has, however, rebuffed overtures from his rival faction supporting deputy president Daniel Tajem for president and treasurer-general and Julau member of parliament Joseph Salang for deputy president for a no-contest for the two top posts.

He had said he could not disappoint the majority of party branches who had come out to endorse him as the next party president. His running-mate for the deputy president's post is Sng Chee Hua, o­ne of the party's five vice presidents.

Present mood

The Masing faction is claiming grass-root support from the majority of party branches in their quest to take over the party leadership from the present team. Moggie, who is Minister of Energy, Communications and Multimedia, has declined to be re-nominated.

They claimed to have garnered endorsement for the Masing-Sng alliance from 177 of the party's 206 branches, and have submitted their annual returns to party headquarters.

Masing called o­n the present party leadership not to misread the present mood of party members o­n the ground for a change.

He said if some party leaders insisted o­n talking o­nly about legality aspects and ignoring what he claims as groundswell support for his faction in calling for leadership change they might be leading the party to its demise.

According to him, his supporters had checked with the Registrar of Societies, and the feedback they received concerning the party were not favourable to the party.

"If you insist o­n doing everything strictly according to the law, the party could face the risk of being deregistered," he said. According to Masing, "PBDS has the worst record as far as political parties are concerned with the ROS."

He claimed that for the past many years the party had in fact not been following the books.

Semi-illiterate members

Masing said he was very worried when the party was now suddenly asking its lawyers to look at the legality aspect of many things involving the party."The party could be de-registered as a result," he pointed out.

"Nearly half of PBDS members are semi-illiterate and they cannot afford all this legal talk," he said, adding that the present party leadership should instead recognise the mood o­n the ground and bow to popular feelings.

During a civic assembly at Rumah Peter last night, Masing also reiterated the need for the PBDS top leadership to work closely with other leaders in the Barisan Nasional, especially the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, in the interest of the party and its members, especially the Dayak community.

Tuai Rumah (headman) Peter Ranggau, who is a staunch supporter of Masing, said he had hopes for the Iban community in his area if and when he (Masing) takes over as president of the party.

Also present at the gathering were Wilson Uggak, a political secretary to the Chief Minister, and a PBDS supreme council member Philominon Nuing.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Tribune today quoted PBDS vice president Peter Runin as saying that that "branch leaders are welcomed to take back the metal boxes (containing the annual
returns of party branches) from the party headquarters" that had been sent there earlier.

But he made it clear the party headquarters would o­nly release the boxes to "the recognised branch
leaders."

Runin, who is aligned to the Tajem-Gandum group, questioned the motive of wanting to have the boxes back.

"This action invites speculation and suspicion that not all are in order," he said.