PKR president Anwar Ibrahim is greeted on arrival at the Kuching Hilton to witness Sarawak division chiefs pick who among them will be the state chief for the next three years.

SELANGAU MP Baru Bian has seen off the challenge of Miri MP Dr Michael Teo to lead Sarawak PKR for another term, two party sources told The Malaysian Insight.

Baru, who is works minister, has has been Sarawak PKR chief for three terms. A source said had the support of 21 of the 27 division chiefs at a meeting in Kuching Hilton yesterday to decide who among them should lead the party in the state for the three years.

PKR has 29 divisions in Sarawak, but Baru and Sibuti division chief Mohdar Ismail were absent from the meeting. Both were officially excused.

The six who supported Dr Teo, who reportedly was on the brink of being dropped from the party’s line-up in the May general election over allegation of poor performance, were the Sngs – Sarikei division chief Sng Chee Hua, his brother Chee Eng (Kapit) and his son Larry (Julau) – Roland Enggan (Baram), Dr Lau Liak Koi (Limbang) and Dr Teo himself, according to another source.

One of the talking points at the meeting was Baru’s absence from the meeting yesterday and the party’s national congress last month, when party president Anwar Ibrahim criticised his failure to attend.

Anwar told the division chiefs yesterday that Baru had explained why he will be absent.

Baru had a pre-arranged church function and his ministry’s Hari Kerjaya & Sesi Libat Urus Kementerian Kerja Raya (career day and administrative session on the Works Ministry) in his hometown of Lawas.

PKR Sarawak information chief Vernon Kedit in a statement said Baru also had several other scheduled events in Lawas that could not be postponed.

Late last month, Baru said there was an attempt to engineer his ouster from the position he had held for nine years.

Speaking to supporters at Kuching International Airport, he said he would not be hounded out and will seek support for another term.

Baru said it was “very clear” that there are “some people” trying to subvert how the PKR state chief is picked, “ trying to divide us and trying to determine our future in this new government”.

Though he did not say who the “some people” were, it is believed he was referring to the Sngs.

PKR’s chapters in Sarawak and Sabah, unlike in the peninsula, have the autonomy to pick their own chiefs.

Sarawak was given the autonomy in the then Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) Kuching Declaration of 2012. It was later ratified as the Pakatan Harapan Kuching Declaration in 2014.

Anwar is a signatory of the declaration. He is expected to announce the new Sarawak chief later today. – December 15, 2018.