KUCHING, April 22 — Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) did not recommend its deputy president Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun to defend his Selangau seat in GE14 over allegations that he had betrayed the party in the 2016 state election.
PRS president Tan Sri Dr James Masing said today he has evidence of Entulu’s betrayal in Tamin where the party’s candidate Christopher Gira was contesting on a Barisan Nasional (BN) ticket.
“The party takes betrayal seriously and we have taken decisive steps to make sure that such a betrayal does not spread and finally split the party,” he said when explaining why Entulu was not recommended to defend his Selangau seat in the May 9 election.
Gira was elected in Tamin, beating PKR’s Simon Joseph and Independent Dr Ali Puji.
The Selangau parliamentary constituency, with 30,026 registered voters, is made up of the Tamin and Kakus state constituencies, both held by PRS.
Masing, who is also deputy chief minister, said Gira and Kakus state assemblyman Datuk John Sikie Tayai did not endorse Entulu’s candidacy, a pre-condition for any incumbent federal lawmaker from PRS seeking to defend his seat in GE14.
He said this is the party’s way of identifying potential candidates for GE14, adding that the party’s deputy president need not necessarily be chosen.
In place of Entulu, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, PRS has recommended Rita Insol, a 56-year-old former head of the legal division of the Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad’s group of companies, as its candidate.
Entulu, 63, first won Selangau in the 2004 general election and successively retained the seat for BN in the following elections.
PRS has also recommended a 51-year-old deputy public prosecutor as a candidate for BN in Lubok Antu, replacing 68-year-old incumbent Datuk William Nyallau.
For GE14, PRS has retained four incumbents to defend their respective seats.
