Only winnable candidate for Mas Gading, says Taib

by Johnson K Saai, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on January 12, 2012, Thursday

Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud

KUCHING: Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud yesterday made it loud and clear that Barisan Nasional (BN) will field only a winnable candidate in Mas Gading in the coming general election. He said that it was useless to field a candidate unless one was really sure that the person could win. “What is the use of fielding a candidate unless you are really sure that he will win? Fielding a candidate who will not win is just like helping the opposition,” he said.

He told reporters this when asked to comment on the announcement by Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) leadership that the party would not re-nominate Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe to defend Mas Gading in the election.

Taib, who is the state BN chairman and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) president, was met after launching the Integrity Day 2012 of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) at Riverside Hotel here yesterday.

On Mas Gading, he said he would decide the candidate after making a thorough assessment to ensure victory for BN, obviously not wanting SPDP to repeat the mistake that it made in the last state election.

In the April 16 polls last year, SPDP was said to have disregarded the assessment on its candidates for the two constituencies of Krian and Ba Kelalan, resulting in the seats being wrested by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Earlier, Taib said that the problem in SPDP was not really pervasive because despite the prevailing crisis, both sides were still very devoted to playing their roles in serving the people through BN. “Despite the internal party problem, none of them want to even think outside BN. So that shows the leaders who have been sacked including their followers still want to support BN,” he said.

He also said that the proposal by the former SPDP leaders to form Sarawak BN Club was a good sign that clearly indicated that no matter what problems they faced within the party, they still wanted to stay within BN and serve as BN elected representatives. “What is more important to me is the SPDP leaders who were either sacked or quit the party can still function as before,” he said.

He also said it was best to leave the group alone at the moment as the situation was still tense. “I think all sides have to keep their cool as things are a bit hot,” he added.