Nansian ready to close ranks with Nogeh in spirit of BN
KUCHING: Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Peter Nansian Ngusie has expressed his readiness to work together with the new Mas Gading member of Parliament Anthony Nogeh Gumbek in the shared spirit of Barisan Nasional ( BN).
Though they may not share the same political wavelength, Nansian who is also an assistant minister with two portfolios, said he does not anticipate any problems with cooperation since they are in the same BN boat.
“I would like to congratulate Anthony Nogeh for winning the Mas Gading seat. Though I had chosen to be neutral during the 15 days of campaigning in Mas Gading, it did not mean I was going against Barisan.
“As I said before, I was helping Barisan in any other seats except for Mas Gading because I did not want to create unnecessary speculations and situations which can complicate matters further,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Nogeh, the new face introduced by Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), toppled the former MP Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe who contested as independent, after garnering 8,265 votes to win by a majority of 2,156 votes.
The seat of Mas Gading was rated the hottest of the three Bidayuh majority seats, mainly due to heated rivalry involving BN supporters and loyalists of Dr Tiki, who was said to still command respect from many community leaders.
There were rumblings as Nansian was seen with Dr Tiki a few days before nomination when Dr Tiki announced his decision to contest as independent after his name was dropped as a BN candidate.
Dr Tiki was also part of the BN Club or the popularly- coined Group of Five ( G5), formed together with Nansian and three other elected representatives who were sacked from SPDP early last year.
On a related matter, Nansian when asked to comment on Dr Tiki’s failure to win the seat, believed the loyalists of Dr Tiki would by now accept the voice of majority and take the defeat in good faith.
He also believed Dr Tiki already has plans on what to do despite failing to win another term as MP. Meanwhile, efforts to get Dr Tiki to comment on the defeat were futile as he could not be contacted.
Many political observers believe Dr Tiki’s position as National Service Training Council chairman, which he held since 2009, would be subject to review now that he is no longer an elected representative.