PRS deputy info chief quits party

Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), a junior partner in the Sarawak BN, suffered a blow when Tedwen Ngumbang, its deputy information chief and close confidante of its president James Masing, resigned from the party.

He submitted his quit letter to the party’s secretary-general Wilfred Nissom early this month, but it  was returned to him soon after as the party leadership had asked him to reconsider his decision.

“Regardless of the letter being returned to me, I consider myself as no longer a PRS member,” he said when met at the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) third  political symposium in Kuching today.

“I have decided to become friendly to SNAP. However,  I have not applied to join the party yet,” Tedwen, a former police officer, explained.

He was also present at the SNAP symposium in Sibu earlier this year in order to, he said, lend “support to my friends”.

“Resigning from PRS is a big sacrifice for me as I have to leave the comfort zone to jump into a crocodile pool,” he said.

Tedwen said there was no longer any reason for him to remain in PRS as he felt that the party, being junior, did not play a meaningful role in the decision-making process.

“The decisions, either within the Barisan Nasional or the state government, are made by one person only, and that other BN leaders from PRS, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), have no say,” he alleged, indirectly referring to state BN chairperson and chief minister Taib Mahmud’s (right) iron-fisted rule in Sarawak for the last 30 years.

“As such, the presence of other BN parties makes no difference in the decision-making processes,” he added.

Tedwen said it would not be a surprise if PRS candidates for the coming state election were decided by people other than the PRS leadership.

He claimed his former party had no say in the final list of election candidates.

Tedwen said he also decided to leave PRS because the BN, of which PRS is part of it, had ruled Sarawak for far too long.

“Now the time has come for change. It is the most appropriate time for SNAP and the other opposition parties to get the better of the BN. It is even better than in the 1987 and 1991 state elections,” he said, referring to the time when PBDS and Persatuan Malaysia Sarawak (PERMAS) led by former chief minister Rahman Yaakub had to take on the might of the BN.

“This time we have the big brothers, the DAP and PKR to challenge the BN,” he said.

Tedwen said many Malays and Chinese were also backing SNAP and other opposition parties.

Asked whether he would be a candidate in the coming state election, he said there was a possibility that he would join SNAP and then be nominated to face off with Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu  in the Layar constituency.

“I don’t rule it out as things can happen between now and nomination day in the coming election,” he added.

Tedwen was among the founder members of PRS formed after the deregistration of PBDS on Oct 21, 2004.

Masing, who is the land development minister, could not be reached for comment, but Nissom claimed that Tedwen had not submitted his resignation letter.

“I have, in fact, asked him to write a simple letter. But so far, he has not,” Nissom said. He  added that Tedwen’s presence at SNAP functions could affect PRS's position in the BN.