Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) will only recognise the faction in crisis-ridden Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) which the Registrar of Societies (ROS) determines to be legally right, said Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

"It is a legal question," Taib, who is also state BN chief, told reporters in Kuching yesterday when asked which of the two factions he recognises.

"Let the law decide on that," he added.

Taib's latest comments appear to deal a blow to the hopes of the 'sacked' president Dr James Masing-led faction of getting a confirmation of the state BN's endorsement ahead of any final decision by the ROS on the status of the three-year-old party.

At a recent state Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB)-organised dinner honouring Taib's 26 years in office as chief minister, Masing was addressed as PRS president. His supporters saw this as an endorsement of his position in the party.

However, Taib's comments yesterday suggested that the BN has taken no such stand, preferring to let the ROS decide on the question of law and not on the strength of each faction.

Larry Sng elected as president

The other faction, led by PRS' former acting president and now special advisor Sng Chee Hua, organised the party's first triennial delegates conference (TDC) on March 30 and elected Sng's son Larry, 28, who is a state assistant minister, as the new president with Sri Aman member of parliament Jimmy Donald as his deputy.

The proceedings at the TDC were observed by state ROS director James Ho and another senior officer on the directive of their superiors in Putrajaya.

The Sng faction will submit, as requested by the ROS, their new list of office-bearers by Monday. Ho confirmed in a newspaper interview yesterday he was waiting for the list before deciding on the next course of action.

Masing's faction held their own TDC in Sibu in December and elected Masing as president and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Joseph Entulu as deputy president. They also submitted their list of office-bearers to the ROS on Dec 6.

Meanwhile, Sidi Munan, the re-appointed secretary-general of PRS, told malaysiakini today that he agreed with the chief minister that the issue is a legal one.

"How can six or seven elected representatives (on Masing's side) ignore the party constitution and Societies Act?" he said.

He pointed out at least two violations of the party constitution by that faction. This includes the illegal sacking of six principal office-bearers and the setting up of a duplicate party headquarters in Pending.

A likely third violation could be the public displaying of the party's new unauthorised logo without the prior approval of the ROS.