Julau, Sarawak

Have you heard of Julau?

I haven't until recently even though I have been to Sibu on numerous occasions.

Julau is capital of the Julau District in the Sarikei Division and just 60 km south of Sibu. Today there is a road linking the two towns. It is an agricultural area specialising in black pepper but it also has rubber, rice and fruits. Naturally it has logging activities.

Julau 

Mainly an Iban and Chinese area, the town has an approximate population of 35,000. Limah Din or Lim Ah Tin (林结麟) or Lin Zhilin as we would call him today in Mandarin, was the first Chinese to arrive in Julau in 1929, when he then started growing rubber and trading with the Ibans. Relationship between Iban and Chinese generally got along well, even when the British or Japanese overlords were in charge. That's probably because the toxic politics of Semenanjung hasn't yet contaminated them.

Julau 

Today, with an approximate population of 35,000, its MP, Larry Sng showed Julau PKR branch's membership is 13,000. Naturally this hasn't pleased the Dökkálfar Dwarfs who believes Julau's PKR membership is only 603.

above - Dökkálfar Dwarfs (photo not showing Latheefa Koya)

below - Pandan Cats (photo not showing Nik Nazmi, Nurul Izzah and Princess Iron Fan)

Yes, you guess it right, Larry Sng is aligned to the Pandan Cats, wakakaka. And this significant membership number in Julau may tilt the party polls for the deputy president in favour of Rafizi Ramli.

Larry Sng 

Mind you, Rafizi suffered a tremendous set-back in Sabah which has shown PKR dodgy party polls before, wakakaka.

In 2010 PKR held a party poll to elect, surprise surprise, the party deputy president. In those early days (as it is to a lesser extent today) the presidency stayed with either Anwar or his wife, so the battle royal would be (still is) for the deputy presidency.

Julau - citizens protesting against Peh Mor's land grab 

The party was in uproar as one faction accused another and vice versa, of bettering the election antics of the notorious EC, wakakaka again.

To resolve the acrimonious dispute, erstwhile PKR stalwart Jonson Chong (and a neutral in the party fractured fractions) wrote a personal letter to then party president Dr Wan Azizah about the questionable party polling process.

Jonson Chong, then one of the leading lights in PKR, was so alarmed by the reported naughty EC-style happenings, wakakaka, that he gave a diplomatic opening to Wan Azizah then the de jure (not de facto) party leader, for her to review the less than kosher proceedings.

Jonson's letter to Wan Azizah can be read here.

She did NOT answer Jonson Chong’s offer of financially supported audit of the party polls of one PKR division, Libaran.

Renowned socio-political activist Haris Ibrahim (the real reformer) praised Jonson for his constructive approach to personally fund an audit into the Libraran polling, but alas, not so Princess Iron Fan who ignored Jonson completely.

Yes, Jonson's plea and financially-supported offer to Wan Azizah was like pissing in the wind.

Anyway, Jonson was so disappointed by both Wan Azizah's rather discourteous cold-shouldering of his constructive and valid proposal and the arrogance of the inner coterie in its refusal to truly investigate into party members’ complaints about the dodgy party polls.

Unsurprisingly, Jonson Chong and a few members left PKR - mind you, not that the feudal warlords cared two hoots as Jonson was not/never a member of the PKR inner coterie.

The weak leadership of Wan Azizah has contributed to poor questionable doings within PKR where its UMNO-style Don Corleone's thrive.

Subsequent party polls saw even Zaid Ibrahim throwing in the towel in sheer frustration as party poll antics continued, and that was followed by the suspension of Chegubard and his eventual resignation.

Indeed, Chegubard gave us horror stories about the polling in Teluk Intan and Sabah, where the actual turnout at Sandakan and Libaran was only about 200, and not the official figures of 898 in Libaran and 456 in Sandakan, wakakaka.

Incidentally Azmin Ali was the winner where he ‘swept’ virtually (almost) 100% of the votes at Libaran, Sandakan, Tawau and Tenom, wakakaka again.

Chegubard said the votes for Sandakan and Libaran were not tallied at the polling centre and, like at Kubang Pasu, the candidates' agents were not allowed to be present during the counting process, wakakaka!

Did Wan Azizah then take any action? That was a rhetorical question, so no answer required as within the question was also the answer, wakakaka.

Party faction loyalties have since shifted. I wonder whether Princess Iron Fan has regretted her non-action eight years ago. Well, it's too late now for that, so let us see what has been happening recently.

FMT reported: Latheefa Koya has questioned the visit by party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to Julau, Sarawak, yesterday ahead of the PKR state election this Saturday.

Calling the visit “inappropriate and highly questionable”, the PKR lawyer noted several controversies associated with the Julau division, including reports of a sudden increase in membership to 13,000.

Latheefa also mention that Julau MP Larry Sng is being investigated by the MACC because someone in PKR reported the extraordinary membership number of 13,000.

It surprises me that the MACC, which has so many unfulfilled task would even investigate what is essentially a PKR internal membership issue when either RoS or the NGO BERSIH would be more qualified to do so.

MACC normally doesn't move unless the PM instructed the anti-graft body.

Interesting times, wakakaka.