A DAP leader involved in the dissolution of the Triang branch committee in Pahang has denied any link between the problems there and the disputes in neighbouring Terengganu which saw the mass resignation of 15 state leaders yesterday.

Triang state assemblyperson Leong Ngah Ngah, who is also the branch vice-chairperson, said today that the decision by the DAP central executive committee (CEC) to dissolve the committee was due solely to unresolved internal disputes.

"(The developments in Triang) have no relation to what is happening in Terengganu. The dispute within the branch is due to differences in personalities - it should not result in party resignations," he said when contacted today.

Leong said while he is personally affected by the branch dissolution, he would not give up on the party.

"The branch elections are expected to take place next June and I will contest again for a post," he added.

In the meantime, Leong said, an interim committee has to be set up within three months. The lineup for this committee will only be known next week.

The decision to dissolve the Triang branch with immediate effect was made at a DAP national leadership meeting last Thursday on grounds that the branch's existence has become "detrimental to the interest of the party".

The DAP CEC appointed party assistant organising secretary Seah Long Peng to stand in as branch chairperson until the next annual branch general meeting.

Local dispute

DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock clarified the following day that the move was taken on recommendation by the Pahang state committee in order to amicably resolve a long-standing dispute within the branch.

He added that the issue did not involve any disagreement between the national leadership and branch leaders over the latter's relationship with other opposition parties in the Barisan Alternatif coalition.

DAP Triang branch has close working ties with former allies PAS and Keadilan in the state.

Yesterday, 15 DAP Terengganu state leaders announced their decision to quit the party en bloc in protest of a CEC directive last week for 17 party members based in Terengganu and Kelantan to quit their posts in the PAS governments.

The 15 members chose to retain their positions as municipal and district councillors as well as members of the PAS People's Consultative Committee.

Meanwhile, a party insider confirmed that the developments in Triang was simply an "isolated issue" which was blown out of proportion.

"The national leadership has mismanaged the affair. These are internal party matters and it should not have been made public in the first place.

"It was unfortunate that the announcement was made together with the one on the Terengganu matters," said the source who declined to be named.

Sole DAP rep in Pahang

It is learnt that Triang branch leaders had for some time been split into two camps, one led by Leong and the other by branch chairperson Yee Lee Hoo.

Yee's faction is said to hold key positions within the branch leadership while Leong - who is the sole DAP state assembly representative in Pahang - is believed to have a stronger support base in Triang, a small town in central Pahang about 30km from Temerloh.

When contacted, party secretary-general Kerk said the disagreement between the two sides started several months ago when both camps had contested against each other for membership of a local organisation, unrelated to the party.

Kerk declined to name the organisation but said one faction lost the bid and this created discontent between the rivals.

According to another party source, the latest dispute between the two was triggered by a recent incident whereby Yee was said to have donated large amounts of the branch funds to a Chinese primary school in the area without agreement of all branch leaders.

The matter was brought to the Pahang state committee by Leong, and this led to the decision to dissolve the branch committee.

Yee was unreachable for comment today.