Two senior Sarawak state ministers last night quashed rumours about Abdul Taib Mahmud's resignation as chief minister and described it as 'baseless and malicious'.

Speaking to reporters in Kuching after from a one-day trip to Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu and state Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Adenan Satem said Taib who is currently abroad had "laughed off" the issue.

Jabu is the deputy president in Abdul Taib's party - Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) while Satem is the vice-president.

However, the duo remained tightlipped on the chief minister's whereabouts but told reporters that he would return home over the weekend.

Following this, they said Abdul Taib would visit Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kuala Lumpur to finalise the state Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates for the polls.

Adenan said Abdul Taib was merely taking a break from his heavy responsibilities and was coming back not because of the rumour but because Parliament was dissolved today.

Yesterday, The Star reported that the chief minister was undergoing treatment in Singapore.

Rumours still persist

Although, the prime minister had denied on Tuesday that Abdul Taib had tendered his resignation, rumours still persisted in Kuching and Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysiakini yesterday reported that the PBB leader was upset with the premier after he had 'demoted' one of his top party cadres Effendi Norwawi from agriculture minister to special functions minister.

According to sources Abdul Taib saw this as a mark of disrespect for his party, which he believed should be given a stronger presence in the federal cabinet.

Effendi recently said that he would not seek re-election due to health reasons and it was during this time that rumours about Abdul Taib's resignation begin to emerge.

Standing for elections

Meanwhile, Jabu said the chief minister would also be defending his Kota Samarahan parliamentary seat in the coming elections.

There has been persistent talk that he might not defend his parliamentary seat partly because of the BN leadership's decision not to allow candidates from the ruling front to contest both state and parliamentary seats.

When pressed for the reason behind their one-day trip to Kuala Lumpur, the PBB leaders refused to divulge any specific details, with Jabu saying, "We left Kuching, arrived at Terminal Three in Subang, met our drivers and then returned."

However, Adenan shed a little light on the mystery when he disclosed that they had failed to convince Effendi not to step down.

He said Effendi (photo) had made up his mind and the decision must be respected. His Kuala Rajang parliamentary seat is expected to be assumed by PBB publicity chief Wahab Dolah, who is also an assistant state minister.

PBB - the backbone of the state BN - holds 10 out of 28 parliamentary seats. Sarawak is the only state where the state legislative assembly is not dissolved. Its state and parliamentary elections are held separately.