The new leadership of Sarawak National Party (Snap) - the rump of a bitter party split last year - will engage a team of professionals to study the achievements of the Dayak community in the last four decades.

Its president, Edwin Dundang, told reporters after chairing his first central executive committee meeting in Kuching yesterday that the research would cover three areas - education, economy
and native customary rights (NCR) lands.

"We'd like to know where the Dayaks (who represent about 50 percent of Sarawak's 2.2 million population) are in these areas of human endeavour," he explained.

He added that the research would help the Dayak-based party in planning its political strategies.

Dundang felt that since Sarawak would be celebrating its 40th independence anniversary in August it was, therefore, an appropriate occasion to evaluate the success of the Dayaks.

Among those present at the meeting held at Snap headquarters in Kuching were newly-elected deputy
president Justine Jinggut and newly-appointed secretary-general Stanley Juggol.

Struggles to survive

Dundang - who took over as president from long-serving party leader James Wong Kim Min at the party's triennial general assembly last month - also announced the setting up of a parliamentary election committee headed by Jinggut.

"We are in the Barisan Nasional and we want to set out to defend those seats allocated to Snap during the 1999 general elections," he added.

Snap won four parliamentary seats but its elected representatives have since joined the newly-established spin-off Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), which is also a member of the BN.

The party is struggling to survive after most of its members crossed over to SPDP, another Dayak-based party formed by rival leaders.

The CEC meeting also resolved to set up a constitutional amendment committee which, among others, would look at amending the party constitution to limit the term of the president to a maximum of three terms of not exceeding nine years.

The proposed changes were to reflect the political changes in the new political environment, he added.

Disagreement with BN

The CEC also set up a disciplinary committee as required by the constitution to ensure effective
management of the party.

Dundang reiterated the party's disagreement with the view expressed recently by Barisan Nasional secretary-general Mohamad Rahmat that Snap was no longer a political party following last year's decision by the Registrar of Societies to de-register it.

The Court of Appeal had later ordered a stay of execution of the ROS' decision pending the final outcome of a legal action filed by Snap which challenged the decision.

Dundang said the party had written twice to Mohamad but had not received any response.

"As far as we're concerned, the position is very clear. We have never been evicted from BN nor have we left BN. Therefore, the question of us having to re-apply in order to be in BN does not arise," he added.