PRS Meluan, Pakan see red over branch chief’s lobbying to replace Salang

JULAU: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Meluan and Pakan branches are seeing red over the decision by its Meluan branch chairman Nyempah Sabot to lobby for the Julau parliamentary seat.

In a press statement yesterday, Meluan branch deputy chairman Minggang Junggai and vicechairman Desmond Sunok, along with Pakan branch chairman Jantan Uchong, Pakan Women chief Fritz Patrick, and Pakan Youth chairman Timothy Julius, said Nyempah’s act ion had disappointed them.

The group also said Nyempah was setting a bad example for younger members of PRS, and urged the party’s top leadership to take action against him.

“This is more so when he ( Nyempah) is a member of the party’s supreme council.

“He should know that the party wants Julau incumbent Datuk Joseph Salang to defend the seat for the Barisan Nasional ( BN),” said Jantan.

Nyempah, 54, an engineer from Rumah Liban @ Emparak in Nanga Dong, Entabai, had on Sunday publicly declared that he was lobbying to replace Salang, who has held the Iban-majority seat for four terms since 1999.

According to Jantan, Nyempah was being groomed to be Salang’s successor.

“We expected him to learn the ropes and to accompany Salang on his regular visits to the constituency, which has around 500 longhouses, but Nyempah was reluctant to do so.

“During those rare occasions when he did (accompany Salang), he seemed unable to gel with the crowd,” he added.

Jantan, a longhouse chief from Pakan, said it was not a question of Salang wanting to overstay his welcome as Julau MP.

“It is the party president, Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing, who wants him to stay on. He certainly has his reasons to want Salang to remain (as Julau MP) although the latter has indicated his wish to retire.”

On certain quarters branding Salang as an outsider, Jantan said it was a very stale issue brought up by those who have been unable to find fault in Salang in his capacity as MP.

“I wish to put it on record that Salang’s ‘aki inek’ (forefathers) were from Dayat in Pakan who moved to Kejaii in Meradong in search of better land to farm wet paddy.

“What guarantee is there that Nyempah will be in a better position to understand the constituents’ problems and needs?

“Salang visits the constituency at least four times each month, except when he is in Parliament or on official tours overseas,” he said, adding that Salang began doing his rounds the week he was re- elected as MP, and does not do so only during an election year.

“It i s a wel l- known fact that Salang puts a premium on punctuality and there are many times when he arrives much earlier at a function.”

Jantan went on to dismiss the claim made by Nyempah’s suppor ter Rober t Datu, a longhouse chief, that his lobbying for Nyempah was based solely on sentiment on the ground to have a local representative.

On the contention of longhouse chief Philip Belawan that Nyempah has a good relationship with both Meluan assemblyman Rolland Duat and Pakan assemblyman Tan Sri William Mawan, Jantan said it was news to him and all loyal PRS members.

“Perhaps Nyempah spends his time on the ground more with the two leaders rather than Salang,” he said.