It's official! Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) will dissolve to form a new Dayak-based political entity.

This was confirmed in a joint press statement issued late last night by SPDP chairperson William Mawan, PRS chairperson Dr James Masing and Deputy Foreign Minister Joseph Salang.

Salang, who is also the MP for Julau, is the de facto leader of a group of partyless elected representatives from the now-defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS).

The statement followed their 'secret meeting ' on Thursday night at the residence of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) senior vice-president Adenan Satem in Santubong, near Kuching.

The leaders said the new 'all inclusive' political entity will accommodate those who have similar objectives and will work with the other Barisan Nasional (BN) parties in the state.

SPDP and PRS have a total of 15 state assemblypersons and seven parliamentarians between them.

Following the merger, at least two more partyless MPs, including Salang, will join them. A third partyless MP Jawah Geran is said to be still considering the possibility.

Candidates retained

The leaders, in their joint statement, also said that all incumbents in SPDP and PRS would be retained as candidates in the coming state elections but this is subject to the final approval of state BN chief and Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

They added that nominees for new seats allocated to both parties following the recent redelienation of electoral constituencies would be a responsibility of the new political entity.

This is the first clear indication that the merger will most probably take place before the state elections, as reported by malaysiakini earlier.

On the same note, there is now talk that the election date may be pushed back to either September or October instead of March or April as widely speculated before.

Commenting on the merger, one observer said: "It will take time to formalise all the arrangements, including registering a new political party."

"But from past experiences, pro-BN parties from Sarawak normally do not take long to obtain approval for registration from the Registrar of Societies," he added on condition of anonymity.

Tensions in PRS?

Meanwhile, a party to celebrate the initial accord was held at Masing's residence and was attended by both SPDP and PRS leaders.

One notable absentee, however, was PRS deputy president Sng Chee Hua. He is believed to be upset for not being invited to Thursday's 'secret meeting'.

Contacted today, Sng said: "While I respect that party president (Masing) has every right to discuss a merger with other parties, he needs the consent of the party's supreme council before agreeing on any terms and conditions for such a merger."

Previously, he told malaysiakini that the merger is good but stressed there would be problems if the interest of Chinese members in PRS are ignored.

It is an open secret that ties between Sng and Masing are strained, with observers saying that the differences are almost irreconcilable.

Sng is said to be insistent on putting his own nominees as new faces in several seats, including the new seat of Balai Ringin, for the coming state elections.

Sng and his group are said to control the party's 32-member supreme council and under the party constitution, the council must decide on the merger issue.

The deputy president said he would raise the issue at the coming council meeting on Feb 4 and will propose a committee to be formed to negotiate on the terms and conditions for the merger.