PARTY-HOPPING Lubok Antu MP Jugah Muyang is making an attempt to return to Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), the party he ditched in 2018 to contest in the general election as an independent.

PRS Youth chief Snowdan Lawan, however, told The Malaysian Insight that the application has been put on ice.

“Temporarily,” Snowdan, who also is the state’s second assistant minister for tourism, creative industry and performing arts, added.

Snowdan also confirmed that Jugah has submitted a formal application to rejoin the party, a component member of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition.

Jugah, formerly a member of PRS’ Miri division, took to Facebook to confirm the rumour of him applying to return to PRS.

He said he has been advised to return to PRS by Chief Minister and GPS chairman Abang Johari Openg “for the sake of Dayak unity”, to strengthen PRS and to better serve the people of Lubok Antu as a GPS representative.

Jugah said he hoped his supporters could accept his move “with an open heart”.

A source in PRS told The Malaysian Insight that the party is in no hurry to consider the application as they are currently investigating claims that Jugah had bankrolled the independent candidate for the Batang Ai seat, John Linang Mereejon, in last December’s state elections.

Batang Ai is one of two state seats that make up the Lubok Antu parliamentary constituency.

The GPS-PRS incumbent for the state seat, Malcolm Mussen Lamoh, retained it with a 738-vote majority. Mussem had polled 3,208 votes to independent Mereejon’s 2,470.

Mereejon’s showing raised a few eyebrows as most experts had predicted the one-term Lubok Antu MP (2013-2018), William Nyallau Badak, would be the one who would be carrying the fight to Lamoh.

Nyallau, who was pulled out of political retirement by Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), only managed 1,366 votes.

The fourth candidate in the contest, Usup Asun of the pro-independence Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), lost his deposit.

Jugah took advantage of a groundswell against then PRS president James Masing to pull off an upset win in Lubok Antu.

He soon ended his independence by joining PKR where in 2020, he was appointed Sarawak PKR vice-president. His flirtation with PKR lasted for only a few months.

On June 5, 2020, he announced that he was quitting the party to return as an independent lawmaker, citing his disillusionment with the Pakatan Harapan coalition for the resignation.

Jugah also said his constituency, in a rural area some 200km from Kuching, “needs support from the ruling government for development projects”.

He had also pledged his support for the Perikatan Nasional federal government and the GPS government of Abang Johari. – February 14, 2022.