A veteran Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) member, who claimed to have the backing of Chief Minister and party president Abdul Taib Mahmud, lost in his bid to unseat incumbent Abang Osman Marzuki for the party's Pantai Damai division deputy head post over the weekend.

Annuar Razak, a former PBB supreme council member and deputy head of the same division, secured 43 votes while Osman garnered 75 votes.

The division head Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi, the state assemblyperson for Pantai Damai, was returned unopposed at the division meeting attended by delegates and observers from about 40 branches. The meeting was officiated by party deputy president and state Housing Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg.

According to several delegates, Annuar, whose business interests include timber and property development, was trying to make a comeback to his old post by telling delegates that he had Taib's support.

The Pantai Damai division, one of the largest divisions in Kuching covering most of the Malay kampungs on the North Bank (opposite the Kuching Waterfront) such as Gersik, Boyan, Surabaya, Penglima Seman, Pulo and Bintawa, besides Matang, Santubong and Buntal, is known to be a staunch supporter of Abang Johari.

PBB has 62 divisions throughout Sarawak, reflecting the number of state constituencies, with over 2,000 branches, which are now meeting ahead of the party convention scheduled in Miri between Sept 15 and 17.

Dilution of support

"A victory for Annuar would have meant a dilution of some support for Abang Johari whose position in the party appears under threat with the obvious challenge from Adenan Satem, the senior vice-president, the man everyone thinks could be the next chief minister," said a Malay political analyst.

Adenan like Johari is a Kuching Malay but is not known to be close to most of the PBB Kuching divisions such as Demak Laut (under state Assistant Minister of Environment and Public Health Dr Rauf Abang Zen), Semariang (under state Assistant Minister of Welfare Sharifah Mordiah ), Pantai Damai, Satok (under Abang Johari) and even Tupong (under state Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Office Daud Abdul Rahman).

The Semariang division will meet on June 18, Demak Laut on June 18 and the Tupong division is also expected to meet this month. The Satok division will meet in the third week of July.

A PBB Semariang branch official told malaysiakini today there is already active campaigning for the division Youth leader post, besides other posts in the division.

Sharifah Mordiah, who is also PBB Wanita Chief, is expected to be returned unopposed in line with the party's supreme council ruling that divisions must be headed by elected representatives.

Focus is now on the division deputy head post which is currently held by Abang Khalid Marzuki, a successful Malay businessman and a former political secretary to the chief minister.

He is being challenged for the post by Bank Islam regional manager for Sarawak and Sabah Mohd Said Gapor, who hails from Beladin , Betong. Some senior party leaders are said to be backing him to unseat Khalid who is a close ally of Abang Johari.

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini's Sarawak-based stringer.