‘Candidate congestion shows many Bidayuh intellectuals want to serve community’

Posted on March 26, 2011, Saturday

BAU: The fact that seven potential candidates are vying for Kedup seat is a good sign that there are now many Bidayuh intellectuals interested to serve the community, said Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communication Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong.

Kedup seat fell vacant following the announcement by Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud last Saturday that its incumbent Frederick Bayoi Manggie had decided to call it a day. Bayoi has been Kedup assemblyman since 1996. Before that, Bayoi was Tarat assemblyman for two terms. He was fielded in Kedup after the delineation exercise in 1995.

The seven potential candidates who are now actively lobbying for the seat are PBB Kedup deputy chairman Martin Ben, vice-chairman Alexander Ganyang, information chief Bernard Phillip and youth chief Mohd Jofaizal @ Joseph Entup, educationist Joseph Tiyam, Edward Luwak and radiologist Dr Eric Marcel Munjan.

“All of them are well qualified to be candidates and become YBs to represent the Bidayuh community but unfortunately they only one seat are vying for. We hope that when one of them is picked later on, the rest will continue to give their support and put their differences aside,” Manyin told the media after presenting land titles to Salcra participants of Bau/Lundu at Salcra community hall in Kampung Stenggang near here yesterday.

Manyin, who is also the incumbent for Tebedu, rebutted a statement from PBB Kedup which only wanted candidates from its own rank and reject the so-called outsiders. “We cannot say that because many of us were outsiders when we were nominated before. This includes me, Datuk Peter Nansian and many others,” he stressed.

On Thursday, PBB Kedup submitted and recommended only four names to PBB president Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud. The four are Martin, Alexander, Bernard and Jofaizal. Manyin, who is also PBB vice-president, disclosed that only the top BN leadership will know who will be finally selected. “Even I myself am not sure whether I will be nominated for the coming state election. But that doesn’t matter because what matters is for the BN candidate to win and we must all give our support,” he said.