The bitter Parti Rakyat Sarawak row
By Stephen Tiong, MalaysiaKini, 26 January 2011
Those who do not know about the sour relationship between Sarawak land development minister Dr James Masing and assistant minister in the chief minister’s department Larry Sng would just brush it aside as an insignificant matter.
Masing, president of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), has been insisting that he doesn’t want Larry to defend his Pelagus seat in the coming Sarawak state election.
Larry won the state seat on a Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) ticket in 2001, defeating the BN, and successfully retaining it in 2006, this time as a PRS candidate.
The two are no strangers to each other, for both are from Kapit and their families know one another, though they are not “close”.
Masing was one of the PBDS leaders responsible in the late 1980s for admitting Larry’s father, Sng Chee Hua, into PBDS. PBDS even amended its constitution to become a multi-racial party, just to accommodate the senior Sng and other non-Dayak people.
Many PBDS members strongly objected to the admission of the non-Dayak, especially Chinese, into their party. Their argument was that the Chinese were politically and financially strong, and could overwhelm the less financially and politically mature Dayak members.
Nevertheless, the amendments to the PBDS constitution were adopted at a triennial delegates conference (TDC), with party leaders promising that the financially strong Chinese would help the poor and less educated Dayak members.
Money politics comes into play
However, this did not turn out as promised. Money politics, for the first time in the state, came into play after PBDS opened its door to the non-Dayak. Its objectives and struggles became second fiddle to money politics.
Money politics also divided the party into camps.
Many left the PBDS, seeing it as no longer championing its objectives and principles. The others joined camps that took care of them, or joined one that they were comfortable with.
Serious cracks in PBDS surfaced in 2000, when Masing challenged Daniel Tajem for the post of deputy president.
Tajem and his supporters, including Sng, swept all the posts contested.
Leo Moggie, then federal works minister, won unopposed as party president.
Masing’s camp suspected that Sng’s money enabled Tajem to win victory. Deeply hurt by the defeat, Masing was reported to be very angry with Sng.
Had it not been for Sng’s money, Masing believed, he would have beaten Tajem.
Soon after the 2000 PBDS delegates conference, Chee Hua dumped Tajem to join Masing’s camp, hoping to seek a political fortune.
As a reward for the cross-over, Masing in 2002 recommended Larry (right), who was only 24 years old then, to be an assistant minister, by-passing state assemblymen like Mong Dagang (Bukit Begunan), John Sikie (Kakus), Gabriel Adit (Ngemah) and Stanley Ajang (Belaga).
Much later, commenting on his recommendation that Larry be appointed an assistant minister, Masing said: “I have been very kind to him because I put him up as an elected representative in the first place, and then as an assistant minister. I have been kind to this young man…”
Masing said Larry was chosen in recognition of his father’s contributions to the party and the Dayak community.
The secret formation of PRS
And when PBDS was hit by an from internal crisis, Masing and Sng secretly formed PRS.
Mong, who is also PRS Youth chief, said both Masing and Sng hatched the formation of PRS when they knew that PBDS was about to be deregistered.
Exactly on the day PBDS was deregistered, on Oct 21, 2004, the Registrar of Societies registered PRS as a political party, after which Masing took charge as its president, with Sng as his deputy.
Forming PRS was as far as the two could work together.
Soon after, they did not see eye to eye on many issues affecting the party. Masing, in one of his press conferences, complained that PRS secretary-general Sidi Munan listened more to Sng than to him.
When quarrel between the two became serious, Masing sacked six principal office-bearers, including Larry, Sidi, information chief Wilfred Nissom, treasurer Clement Eddy, deputy treasurer Sng Chee Beng and deputy information chief Ernest Chua.
Masing then appointed Nissom as the new secretary-general, with Larry as information chief. However, Larry did not accept the post.
In an immediate response, Sng and his supporters, including son Larry, censured Masing for “acting against the interests of the party”. Sng was then declared acting president, causing the PRS to have two supreme councils.
Masing had his own supreme council, with Sng presiding over the other. When Sng stepped down as the leader of his own supreme council, Larry took over.
Like his father, Larry refused to recognise Masing as party president. He even called his own delegates conference which “elected” him as party president.
The leadership crisis in PRS ended only when ROS recognised Masing as its legitimate president. The ROS also ruled that Masing was legally correct in sacking the six principal office-bearers.
It was because of the sacking that ROS issued a show-cause letter to PRS, asking it to explain why it should not be deregistered for contravening its own constitution.
“Grassroots strongly objected to Larry’
Despite the recognition by ROS, the bad blood between Masing and Larry continues till today.
The highlight of the quarrel was the sacking of Larry from the party in 2008, after Masing said he had obtained “strong feedback” from the grassroots.
The grassroots had strongly objected to Larry’s presence in the party and they wanted him kicked out.
Masing wrote to Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, officially informing him that Larry was no longer with PRS, and had, thus, was partyless.
Based on a series of events leading to the sacking of Larry from PRS, the sour relationship between Masing and him is seen as a continuation of the quarrel between Masing and Sng.
Larry is a third generation politician from his family. His grandfather Sng Chin Joo was a councillor with the Kapit District Council, as well as a nominated MP for Kapit after the formation of Malaysia.
Following Chin Joo’s footsteps was his son, Chee Hua, who used the PBDS platform to contest the Pelagus seat and served for two terms, from 1993 to 2001. He was replaced by Larry from 2001 onwards.
When reporters asked Masing about Larry, he said: “He can contest any where he wants to on BN ticket, but not in Pelagus. The seat belongs to PRS, not to Larry.”
Pressed as to what he would do if Taib insisted that Larry be picked to contest in Pelagus, Masing replied: “I consider that as an attempt to destablise me.”
Will Larry contest as a pro-BN independent candidate in Pelagus? Or will Masing eat his words and allow Larry to contest again?
Only time will tell.