Jawah Gerang and supporters join PKR

Jawah Gerang and supporters join PKR

Posted By rajlira On 25th December 2008 @ 00:00 In Local

SRI AMAN: Former Lubok Antu MP Jawah Gerang and about a thousand supporters have joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), it was announced here yesterday.


NEW MEMBER: Jawah (second left) handing over his membership application to Salehuddin. At right is Bawin.

Speaking at a press confe-rence held at a local hotel, Jawah announced his decision to join PKR as he handed over his membership application, along with the applications of more than 1,000 others, to PKR secretary general Datuk Salehuddin Hashim.

“My decision to join PKR is not a surprise; neither is it a political gimmick. I join the party on my own free will,” he said.

Others at the conference were state PKR vice chairman Nicholas Bawin Anggat, former Sri Aman MP Jimmy Donald, PKR Betong chief Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh and members of PKR Sri Aman and Lubok Antu.

Jawah also revealed that he had already travelled the length and breadth of his former constituency to recruit more members and claimed that the response from the people was “very encouraging”.

He claimed that their members were mostly from the now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) which was deregistered in 2004.

Jawah who joined Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) after his PBDS’ days was not re-nominated for the Lubok Antu parliamentary seat in the election last March 8.

Jawah’s replacement by William Nyallau Badak did not go down well with the supporters of this five-term MP who had grown from strength to strength – in terms of grassroots support — since his first outing in 1986.

It was, therefore, quite expected of him to claim yesterday that, about 6,000 people from Lubok Antu parliamentary constituency would soon be joining him in PKR “shortly”.

Meanwhile, Jimmy also said about 1,000 people from Sri Aman parliamentary constituency had joined PKR, adding that he had been moving in the constituency to ask his supporters to join the party.

The media members were also told by Bawin that PKR Sri Aman branch had been set up at Jalan Sabu.

=====================================================
JAWAH GERANG SAH SERTAI PKR


SRI AMAN, Rabu (24 dis) – Bekas Ahli Parlimen P.203 Lubok Antu, Jawah anak Gerang secara rasminya telah menyertai Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) menerusi sebuah majlis yang berlangsung di sebuah hotel tempatan dalam bandar Sri Aman hari ini.

Bekas ahli Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) terbabit sah menyertai PKR setelah menyerahkan borang kemasukan ahli kepada Setiausaha Agung parti berkenaan iaitu Dato Salehuddin Hashim pada jam 12 tengahari hari ini.

Jawah ketika bercakap kepada para pemberita menerusi sidang media sebaik sahaja selesai majlis menjelaskan bahawa beliau menyertai PKR setelah tidak mendapat tempat dalam mana-mana komponen parti Barisan Nasional (BN) dalam negeri ini.

“Saya gagal mendapat tempat dalam Parti Demokratik Rakyat Sarawak (SPDP) sebelum ini dan juga tidak diterima dalam Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).

“Lebih-lebih lagi apabila parti Kongres Dayak Malaysia (MDC) dahuli tidak terima pendaftarannya oleh Pendaftar Pertubuhan (ROS) saya akhirnya nekad untuk menyertai parti ini (PKR),” jelas beliau.

Selain itu beliau juga mendakwa bahawa PKR adalah sebuah parti yang sensitif terhadap pelbagai isu berkaitan dengan kebajikan hidup rakyat di negara ini berbanding dengan kerajaan yang sedia ada pada masa sekarang.

Sambil mendakwa BN adalah sebuah kerajaan yang angkuh, Jawah yakin PKR akan mampu menjaga kebajikan hidup rakyat sekiranya mereka mampu memerintah negeri ini menjelang pilihanraya akan datang.

“PKR mempunyai polisi pembangunan yang bersesuaian untuk rakyat di negeri ini. Atas sebab ini saya telah bertindak menyertai PKR dan permohonan saya ini nampaknya diterima baik oleh mereka,” katanya

Bekas Ketua UMNO Bahagian Petaling Jaya Selatan Sertai Pakatan Rakyat

Bekas ketua bahagian Umno Petaling Jaya Selatan, Datuk Zahar Hashim - yang mendedahkan isu pembelian helikopter Eurocopter - secara rasmi menyertai PAS hari ini.

Beliau telah menyerahkan borang keahliannya kepada Timbalan Presiden PAS, Nasharuddin Mat Isa di satu majlis yang diadakan di sebuah hotel di Ampang pagi ini.

Turut hadir pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor, Datuk Dr Hasan Ali.

Zahar digantung jawatan ketua Umno bahagian awal bulan ini kerana mengkritik pemimpin utama Umno, termasuk mendakwa Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dan timbalannya Datuk Seri Najib Razak menyalahgunakan kuasa dalam satu pertemuan dengan ketua-ketua bahagian di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC).

Dalam ucapannya di majlis tersebut, Zahar berkata, seramai 28 ketua cawangan, dan 13 ahli jawatankuasa bahagian berkenaan juga akan mengikut jejak langkahnya menyertai PAS.

Zahar juga menyumbangkan pejabat Umno bahagian - dipercayai milik beliau sendiri - kepada PAS kawasan tersebut.

Pejabat itu, yang telah ditutup selama tiga minggu, akan dibuka semula besok dan kakitangan di situ akan turut bekerja bagi pihak parti barunya.

Zahar berkata beliau akan bersama jentera PAS untuk membantu kempen pilihanraya kecil parlimen Kuala Terengganu, yang berlangsung antara 6 sehingga 17 Januari ini.

Tambahnya, beliau akan mula berkampung di kawasan itu sepanjang kempen mulai 5 Januari, sehari sebelum penamaan calon.

Kapten tentera bersara juga menafikan tindakan penggantungan yang diambil oleh Majlis Tertinggi Umno pada 2 Disember lalu sebagai punca yang menyebabkan beliau melompat parti.

Sejak keputusan pilihanraya umum 8 Mac lepas yang menyaksikan ketewasan besar BN di beberapa negeri termasuk Selangor, kata Zahar lagi, beliau bersama para penyokongnya sering memikirkan untuk meninggalkan Umno.

Independent Sarawak assemblyman joins PKR

KUCHING: Padungan assemblyman Dominic Ng Kim Ho will no longer be a “lone ranger” in the State Assembly.

The state PKR chief will have former Independent Ngemah assemblyman Gabriel Adit who has joined the party.

Adit, 58, officially joined PKR during a “Friends of PKR” dinner in Sibu on Saturday.

And the veteran assemblyman is not crossing over alone – he handed over 11,753 applications to PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the event.

A happy Ng said: “(With Adit), I will get at least a seconder in any motion that I table.”

He described Adit, a former vice-president of the now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), as an experienced politician and good speaker.

Ng said almost all the fresh applicants were Dayaks from the central region.

To prepare for the “influx”, he said the Sarawak PKR was in the midst of setting up division pro tem committees in 20 of the state’s 31 parliamentary constituencies.

“Our target is to have one division in all the parliamentary constituencies by year’s end,” he said.

Ng said Pakatan Rakyat leaders and MPs from the peninsula would visit Sarawak to help build up the party’s strength.

On the state PKR-DAP relationship, he said it had greatly improved and both sides were working in tandem.

He said the presence of Sarawak DAP chairman Richard Wong Ho Leng and his deputy Chiew Chiu Sing at the dinner proved this.

Of the 71 state assembly seats, the DAP holds six, PKR two and one Independent.

- The Star

Adun ketuai 12,000 di S'wak sertai PKR

Adun ketuai 12,000 di S'wak sertai PKR
Tony Thien | Nov 15, 08 10:25pm
Kira-kira 12,000 orang termasuk 6,000 penyokong Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Ngemah, Gabriel Adit, telah memohon untuk menyertai PKR.


Borang permohonan mereka diserahkan kepada Ketua Umum PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dalam satu perhimpunan majlis makan malam di Sibu yang dihadiri oleh lebih 4,000 orang malam ini.


Turut memohon untuk menyertai parti pembangkang itu ialah pemimpin kontroversi yang juga bekas ketua publisiti PRS bahagian Balleh, Beginda Minda.

Beliau keluar dari parti komponen BN itu ekoran desakan terhadap ketua menteri dan timbalan ketua menteri Sarawak supaya mengundur diri.


Adit, 58, mendakwa beliau telah mengemukakan borang permohonan dari 6,000 penyokongnya malam ini untuk menyertai PKR.

Manakala 6,000 lagi permohonan baru dipercayai terdiri daripada bekas ahli-ahli PRS dan yang bukan ahli.

Sarawak PKR gets big boost

http://ctchoolaw.blogspot.com/

Thursday, November 13, 2008
Sarawak PKR gets big boost

Malaysiakini's report that sole Independent state assemblyperson in the Sarawak State Assembly Gabriel Adit has made the crucial decision to join PKR will give a big boost to PKR as it prepares for the next state elections due in 30 months.

The PKR gathering tonight in Sibu, will be a big celebration. PKR has gained very significant inroads into the Dayak community assisted in great measure by the draconian and high-handed attitude of Taib Mahmud and his 29 lame duck Dayak state reps.

I'm sure Malaysiakini will not mind my posting Tony Thien's report in full. I have highlighted in bold the interesting parts of Tony Thien's report:

Adit, 58, is a four-term representative who retained the predominantly-Iban Ngemah seat in the 2006 state election on an independent ticket.
He will officially hand over his membership application form as well as those from his supporters during a 300-table dinner organised by ‘Friends of PKR’ in Sibu on Saturday. Adit is the organising chair of the event.

It is learnt that many members of a Dayak-based state BN component party will also be handing over their application forms to PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim, the guest-of-honour, for the evening. Several top Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PKR, DAP and PAS as well as their state leaders will be present to witness the event.


Malaysiakini also learnt that Beginda Minda, the ex-publicity chief of PRS president Dr James Masing-led Balleh division who made the news recently with his call on Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu to resign, and his supporters are also expected to join PKR at the function.

Although several leaders of state BN component parties have been reported in a national daily as saying they are not perturbed by the news of Adit’s impending move to join PKR, it has come at a time when there are also reports of groundswell support for PKR, especially in the rural areas.

Most popular party

A Merdeka Centre survey conducted after the March 2008 general election indicates that the most popular party among the Dayaks in Sarawak today is PKR.

There are several reasons why this is so, and among the concerns to Dayaks is the way the present Sarawak government handle the Native Customary Rights (NCR) land issue.

This has seen growing conflict on the ground between NCR landowners and plantation and logging companies and the government and increasing cases of litigation brought before the courts in Sarawak.

Adit was first elected to the state assembly in 1991 and has retained it successfully ever since.

A Canadian graduate in sociology and political science and closely related to former PBDS president and former federal minister Leo Moggie, he is respected within his own community and is known to be patient and not afraid to criticise the state government.


This personality has not endeared him to some top leaders in Sarawak, including the chief minister.

It was hardly surprising that the state BN leadership did not pick him to contest in the last state election which forced him to defend the Ngemah seat as an Independent.

He defeated BN-PRS candidate Alexander Vincent, a Masing relative, by a majority of more than 500 votes.

With Adit joining PKR, the party will now have two state assemblypersons. The other is Dominique Ng who represents the Chinese-majority seat of Padungan.

Adit conceded that there is a limit to what he can do, but by joining PKR he hopes to open the doors for other BN representatives to fight for change which he says looks inevitable, given the growing discontentment among Sarawakians against the state government.

He would not want to say more except that once he is officially in PKR, he will help his colleagues at state and national levels to build up the party’s grassroots where it counts most ahead of the state elections.

Twenty-five minutes too late

Adit told Malaysiakini that over the past several days during the sitting of the state assembly, he was approached by a number of BN representatives who tried to dissuade him from joining PKR after news of his intention leaked.

“I quoted to one of them the title of a Michael Learns To Rock (MLTR) song Twenty-five Minutes Too Late and that I have made up my mind,” he added in jest.

Apart from the Merdeka Centre findings on responses in rural constituencies to PKR, many state BN leaders, especially from the Dayak-based parties, acknowledge the growing anti-BN sentiments on the ground, sparked by issues such as land and certain policies on education and economic opportunities.

But that change may not come easy, with almost everyone acknowledging Taib’s strong and powerful grip on Sarawak’s power politics but one of his senior party colleagues has warned that unless the NCR land issue is resolved, it could potentially become a dynamite to create a political tsunami in the next state election.

But it has been noted that many state BN top leaders appear to be still in a state of denial, believing that under Taib’s leadership the state BN will remain formidable and should be able to remain in power for some time to come.

However, if Adit and more BN elected representatives who, to quote him, have a bitter-sweet experience inside BN, follow him to PKR, that might change the perception.

There are 29 Dayak-majority seats, 27 Malay/Melanau (Muslim)-majority seats and 15 Chinese-majority seats in the 71-seat state assembly.

Presently, DAP has six seats, all Chinese-majority, PKR one Chinese-majority seat and Independents two Dayak seats.

BN’s Sarawak United People’s Party (Supp) could end up even worse in the next state election with the DAP expecting to make further inroads.

PBB’s Malay/Melanau-majority seats may be tough to crack but PKR is confident of giving PBB a run for their money given the known dissatisfaction within the Malay community against the state leadership over a number of issues.

The opposition will have to win half or more of the Dayak seats plus a majority of Chinese seats as well as a number of Malay/Melanau seats to topple the state BN government.

Remove personal differences

PKR’s prospects have been bolstered by a growing number of bumiputera professionals joining the party. It does not lack potentially good candidates to fill the many seats.

Supporters are urging PKR state leaders to remove personal differences and close ranks as well as for the party at the state level to forge a better working relationship with Sarawak DAP.

It’s not clear what role the other state opposition parties Snap and Star will play.

It is possible that if a broader understanding can be reached they will get to contest some seats if the right candidates come around, without opposition parties taking on each other for the same seats.

Learning from past electoral experiences and the need to avoid a clash among themselves, DAP and PKR are likely to agree on seat allocation, especially in Chinese-majority areas.

Sources said that the PKR national leadership want to see the party’s state organisation further strengthened, after Adit’s entry into the party, with strategies more focused on the objectives it has set out to achieve in Sarawak.

The question ahead of the huge Sibu gathering is after Adit’s entry and that of his supporters applying to join the party at the same time, what significant impact will it have especially in the rural areas.

Will, as the Ngemah state representative hopes, it open the doors for not just more BN reps but also the grassroots of other Dayak-based parties to join PKR?

FT Gerakan members defect to PKR

Sunday, September 28, 2008
More Nation Heroz joining Pakatan=)

FT Gerakan members defect to PKR

PETALING JAYA: More than 20 Federal Territory Gerakan members have defected to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) with “more expected in the coming weeks.”

Former Federal Territory Gerakan information bureau chief Gan Kok Keng said there would be at least 300 members from four divisions joining the opposition party soon.

The divisions involved are the Setiawangsa, Wangsa Maju, Bukit Bintang and Kepong divisions.

Gan, who had been with Gerakan for 24 years, said their desire to leave Gerakan stemmed from the inability of the party to play a meaningful role in Barisan Nasional.

“We have no decision-making powers and have been ignored and insulted many times,” he said.

Gan said what bothered him the most was the belief that the comments of former Bukit Bendera Umno chief Ahmad Ismail was not his own personal opinion but those of the party.

“Gerakan should not be appealing for action to be taken in any scenario but should be asking firmly instead,” he said at a press conference at the PKR headquarters here Sunday.

Also leaving Gerakan for PKR is their former Federal Territories Youth chief Tan Kang Ho, Federal Territories Economic Bureau chief Julian Leong, and Wangsa Maju secretary Azali Omar.

PKR vice-president and Subang Member of Parliament R. Sivarasa said the move by the Gerakan members to join PKR was something that was not easy to do.

“It is brave of them. There was also no offer of money and no discussion about positions in the party,” he said.

Earlier this month, former Segambut MP and Federal Territories Gerakan chief Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong also joined PKR.

http://hopemalaysia.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-nation-heroz-joining-pakatan.html

SAPP Supreme Council declares that SAPP is no longer a member of the Barisan Nasional

Press statement by SAPP President Datuk Yong Teck Lee after the SAPP Supreme Council Meeting at Party HQ, Kota Kinabalu on September 17, 2008 (4:30 pm)




The BN has lost its "BN spirit". It was not that the people who did not want the BN, it was the BN who abandoned the people. In spite of repeated appeals from some BN members to other BN leaders to be more sensitive to the peoples' feelings, these leaders continue to treat the people with contempt. Perhaps, after 50 years of uninterrupted government, some BN leaders have got it in their heads that they have a divine right to rule.


On March 8, the people had spoken out loud and clear. The BN paid a heavy price. But yet the BN refuses to learn. The ruthless increase in fuel prices on June 4 and the failure to tackle inflation and economic slowdown have dealt a severe blow to ordinary people. The recent blatant abuse of the ISA against an innocent journalist, an MP and a blogger only confirms that the BN leadership has not learned from their mistakes. The shameful Taiwan trip by 49 BN MPs and the instigation of racial animosities have aggravated the collapse of confidence among the people and leaders, not only on the PM but the BN as well. The PM's budget 2009 was totally uninspiring and has already been discredited even before it was debated in Parliament. The BN has lost its moral authority to rule. Numerical majority in Parliament means little if the people no longer respect you.


Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim's resignation only confirms what many lawyers already knew that is that the Prime Minister and his government has never had the intention to reform the judiciary. Datuk Zaid's exposure about "the BN government being paralysed by internal strife and divisions" has also been known to many people in the BN. In many other countries, such paralysis of government will lead to fresh general elections.


The PM himself appeared drifting, not knowing what has been happening around him. SAPP has nothing personal against the PM and family. None of the matters raised by SAPP concerns his person, his family, son, daughter, son-in-law or businesses. SAPP is only concerned about the issues affecting the country such as the need for good governance, the dangers of racial polarization and injustice of economic imbalances to be tackled effectively.


SAPP hereby proudly dissociates ourselves from these shameful wrong doings of the BN government. SAPP further believes that the BN is not capable of practicing good governance and non-racial politics; that BN has no intention in granting autonomy to Sabah, returning 20% of oil royalties and Labuan to Sabah, implement Borneonisation, review unfair federal laws and departments in Sabah, solve the illegal immigrants problems and remove social and economic imbalances. The BN leadership even refused to recognize historical facts by denying September 16 as Malaysia Day, 45 years.



SAPP had only wanted to see that the legitimate rights of Sabah and the unfairness suffered by Malaysians in Sabah be given due attention with results. The BN must realize that, if not for Sabah and Sarawak, BN would be in the opposition today. But instead of sincerely working to solve the issues raised by SAPP, the BN has chosen to embark on a course of action to destroy SAPP. The SAPP Supreme Council hereby condemns the attempts of BN operatives to destroy SAPP through divide and rule tactics and by abusing the economic resources of the BN State and Federal Governments aimed at instigating SAPP members and leaders to destroy SAPP.


As a matter of fact, by deliberately excluding SAPP from four consecutive meetings of the Dewan Tertinggi and two meetings of the Management Committee ever since the announcement of no confidence on the Prime Minister on June 18, the BN has effectively terminated the membership of SAPP. The SAPP Supreme Council hereby declares that SAPP is no longer a member of the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties.


SAPP is now free from the BN. SAPP shall henceforth use this freedom to pursue our autonomous political path to fulfill our mission to establish a trustworthy government and a progressive, just and harmonious society. We are no longer subservient to BN. We now have the master key to our own house. We shall build a brighter future for our people and the younger generations to come.


SAPP members who hold political appointments in the executive branch of Government shall relinquish their posts by giving the due notice under the constitution and relevant rules and regulations, starting at the Cabinet level.


With our experienced MPs, ADUNs and other party colleagues, SAPP shall provide quality opposition in and outside the Parliament and State Legislative Assembly until the time comes when SAPP is ready to be back in government.


I call on our members to be brave. Do not despair. Remember that one of our party culture seven values is Resilience. From the day we join the party, we knew that things can get very rough for us. Yes, together we shall overcome this difficult period because the people are with us. With the strong encouragement and support of the people, SAPP will succeed in our struggle.


In view of the current fasting month of Ramadhan, SAPP shall only embark on a series of political activities two weeks after Hari Raya. We shall plan a road map to victory in future elections. We shall elaborate how we plan to achieve the eight-points declaration, namely:

(i) Good governance and non-racial politics,
(ii) Autonomy for Sabah,
(iii) 20% oil royalties,
(iv) Return of Labuan,
(v) Review of unfair laws and detrimental departments,
(vi) Borneonisation of the federal civil service,
(vii) Solution to the illegal immigrants issue, and
(viii) Redress economic and social imbalances.


Issued by SAPP HQ.