Two more political parties are expected to be registered in Sarawak and may then come knocking on the Sarawak Barisan Nasional's (BN) door to seek admission, according to a state assembly representative who requested anonymity.

He said the possibility was revealed by state BN chairperson and Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, at a closed- door meeting yesterday for state assembly representatives.

While Taib did not mention the names of the parties, one of them is speculated to be Malaysian Dayak Congress which is headed Nicholas Bawin. Its application is currently before the Registrar of Societies.

Speculation also has it that the other party may be linked to the five elected representatives from the now-defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS). They still do not belong to any political party.

The source disclosed that Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Dr James Masing had said his party would strongly object to the admission of the new parties, as it would lead to political fragmentation of the Dayak community.

The newly-registered PRS itself has been waiting for almost eight months to be admitted to BN. Its admission was endorsed last November at the state level, during a Sarawak BN supreme council meeting.

Stumbling block?

English-language daily The Borneo Post today quoted Masing, a former PBDS leader, as making an indirect plea to the BN supreme council to approve the party's application without delay.

He said damaging rumours about PRS were circulating in the longhouse communities and that this could affect both the party and BN ahead of state elections due by September next year.

Political observers said the delayed admission is being compounded by talk that PRS deputy president Sng Chee Hua has become a stumbling block to the process.

Sng, who is being pressured to step down, is not likely to do so until his conditions are met - including appointing his son Larry, 24, as deputy president. He is currently deputy secretary-general.

"All hell will break loose if this happens," said a senior party leader who is closely aligned to Masing.

"If and when the deputy president's post falls vacant, it is not for one man or for the party's supreme council to decide (the replacement). It should be left vacant until an extraordinary delegates' conference can be held to decide."

At least half of the party's supreme council are not Dayaks, which has increased its difficulty in recruiting members especially in rural areas.

"In one instance, a tuai rumah was given 1000 membership forms and told to recruit members. He came back only with 38 completed forms and told Sng that the people he met do not want to join PRS because it is not a Dayak party," said a source.

Sng, who is said to be abroad, could not be reached for comment.

At the federal level, the issue of PRS admission is not likely to get an easy ride since some component parties - said to include Parti Bersatu Sabah, Gerakan and MCA - have allegedly expressed reservations.

Sources said chairperson and premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would like the issue of the five party-less elected representatives from the defunct PBDS to be resolved simultaneously.

The BN supreme council is due to meet at the end of this month in Kuala Lumpur.

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini's Sarawak-based stringer.