Coming polls may see more PBB Youth faces

By Samuel Aubrey

(The Sunday Post/16 Dec 2007)

Enlisting of more young leaders as candidates good for BN’s endurance: Fadillah

KUCHING: Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) may field more candidates from its Youth Wing in the coming parliamentary election.

At the moment, only its newly-elected Youth Chief Fadillah Yusof is a member of parliament from the wing.

Fadillah said the wing was still hopeful that capable leaders within its midst would be considered as new faces for the parliamentary election expected anytime soon.

“We leave it to the party’s top leadership to identify and decide the younger leaders within PBB who are suitable to be fielded as candidates in the coming election,” he told reporters here yesterday after a PBB Youth meeting at the party headquarters at Jalan Bako here.
Fadillah chaired the Youth Wing’s meeting for the first time since last month’s general assembly in Miri.

Almost all the new office-bearers were present for the meeting including new Pemuda deputy chief Daniel Jubang Kanyan and new vice president Ensaring Suel
The two-hour meeting also appointed

Gerald Rentap Jabu as the wing’s new secretary general, a post formerly held by Fadillah.
Mohd Kamaluddin Mohd Effendi will be the assistant secretary general.
Awangku Jenal Abidin is the new treasurer,

Alvin Runggah Jimbun (assistant treasurer),

Narudin Sidi (information chief) and

Cr Dennis Ngau Jok (assistant information chief).
Seven new supreme council members of the wing were also appointed, four from the Pesaka wing and three from Bumiputera.

Fadillah, who is Petra Jaya member of parliament, said he was ready to defend his seat and continue as its representative in the Dewan Rakyat for the second consecutive term.

“If entrusted as BN candidate in the coming election, yes, I am ready and well prepared,” he said.

However, he hoped he would not be alone from PBB Youth and hoped more from the wing would also be listed as election candidates.

Insisting that the BN top leadership in the State and in Kuala Lumpur had the final say, he said the enlisting of more younger leaders as candidates would be a positive move.

He said in this way the voices of today’s youth would be heard and shared collectively in the country’s policy-making process.

There was no mention of who the other election-hopefuls would be, although some political observers are speculating PBB Youth vice president and corporate figure Dato Sri Sulaiman Abdul Taib could be one of the new faces.

There would be 31 parliamentary constituencies in Sarawak, including three new ones - Sibuti, Igan and Limbang.

Meanwhile, on another issue, Fadillah said PBB Youth condemned any form of street demonstration or unrest that could disrupt the prevailing peace and stability among the multi-racial society in the country or in the State.

Commenting on the unlawful assembly staged by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) held in Kuala Lumpur recently, he said PBB Youth also fully supported the stern action taken by the government to arrest the culprits under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

In view of this, he said a signature drive initiated by PBB Youth would start today to state the State’s stand against people and parties who were threats to the nation’s peace, harmony, stability and prosperity.

Themed ‘Bersatu Malaysia’, the campaign aimed at collecting 50,000 signatures by next week and this would be handed over to national Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth chief Datuk Hishammudin Hussein before it is submitted to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“We in Pemuda PBB protest what had been done by Hindraf and any other party who took to the streets, forsaking our peace and harmony on the basis of racial and religious sentiments.

He said there were proper channels for the people to voice whatever grievances they might have against the government as provided for in the constitution.

Fadillah then became the first signatory of the campaign.