Monday 2 September 2013

Peace Party and PBDS Baru ‘to receive ROS certificates in KL’

KUCHING: At least two of the five new parties in Sarawak have confirmed they will be in Putrajaya to receive the Certificates of Registration today.

The two parties ‘Peace Party’ and ‘PBDS Baru’ revealed they were invited to the event where they would receive certificates that will make them legitimate political entities.

Peace Party protem deputy president Marcus Kanyong said the presentation of the certificate will end the wait of more than four years to have its application approved by ROS.

He revealed the party’s protem president Petrus Julin and secretary Pok Ungkut will be going to Kuala Lumpur.

“They were informed of the event through SMS (short message system), and they will be going on behalf of the party for the function which is expected to start at 2.30pm (today),” said Marcus when contacted yesterday.

Marcus, however, declined further comment on the good news for the party, saying he preferred such comments to be made by Peace Party leaders upon their return with the certificate.

“Personally, I feel happy because we have been waiting for it for so many years. We did not contest in the last state election (in 2011) and the parliamentary election in May this year because we were not a legal entity,” he said.

Meanwhile, a source from PBDS Baru also indicated a group of them is going to the Putrajaya event to receive the certificate.

The presentation of certificates would end the wait of three years since PBDS Baru applied to register the party. The news of ROS giving the ‘nod’ to PBDS Baru first appeared in The Borneo Post on Aug 24, and it had excited sympathisers of the old PBDS since PBDS Baru is seen as replacement to the now-deregistered party.

Its protem chairman is Louis Jarau, a practising lawyer in Sibu, although it is widely believed that some leaders of the old PBDS have given their backing for it to revive the party.

ROS director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman had said on Aug 24 the department had approved 20 out of 30 applications for new political parties.

When contacted by The Borneo Post few days later, Abdul Rahman declined to reveal how many applications from the state had been approved.

There were five applications received from Sarawak. Apart from Peace Party and PBDS Baru, the other proposed new parties are Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras), Parti Ekonomi Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak (PERSB) and Party Bumi Kenyalang.

Not much is known about Teras, except for the constant link with the Group of Five (G5) – an informal grouping of five former leaders who were sacked from BN component Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) – but this connection has been denied by G5.

As for PERSB, it was linked to farmers and submitted its application in January 2010. They fielded 15 independent candidates in the 2011 state election but all lost their deposits. Party Bumi Kenyalang submitted its application in 2011. Again, not much is known about this party except it is being formed by a group of Dayak and Chinese politicians.

The news that new parties had been approved by ROS had not been warmly received by politicians of both divides in Sarawak. Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) deputy publicity chief Dato Peter Minos said it is puzzling that Malaysia would have many political parties despite its small population.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak vice chairman See Chee How had said the possible formation of more Dayak-based political parties would further split the Dayak community. - theborneopost

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