‘SNAP should stay independent’
By Joseph Tawie, Free Malaysia Today
KUCHING: A former deputy president of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) has advised the party to stay nuetral and ‘let the local people decide its future.’ Sacked deputy Ting Ling Kiew warned the party not to join Pakatan Rakyat or the Barisan Nasional.
“SNAP must be on its own feet without being controlled either by the Barisan or Pakatan Rakyat. Let us, the local people determine, its future,” he said.
Ironically Ting was sacked from the party earlier this year for calling on SNAP members to unite and support the BN candidate Malcolm Mussem during the Batang Ai by-election in 2009.
SNAP, which is one of the oldest parties in Sarawak, is currently part of the Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat coalition.
Ting said that for SNAP to recapture its glory days, the party must undergo a revamp.
“But first Edwin Dundang should resign as president and give way to a new person to lead the party. Only then can SNAP be revamped to become the party of the future in Sarawak.
“With Dundang as president, SNAP has no hope of winning a single seat in the coming election. This is because he has no quality to lead the party. And under him the party is not moving,” he said.
Ting was alluding to the 2006 state election where SNAP crashed out losing all but one of the 20 seats its contested. Even then the sole Engkilili seat, won on a SNAP ticket, ended in controversy.
Its assemblyman Johnical Rayong had immediately upon winning declared his indepedence.
