KUCHING: Sarawak is organising a special dinner to show appreciation to former chief minister, now Governor Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
The dinner, organised by past and present Barisan Nasional representatives on May 30 at Riverside Majestic Hotel, is expected to cost some RM500,000 with a 42-member orchestra.
Organising chairman Datuk Abdul Wahab Dolah, who is Igan MP, said it could not an ordinary event as "he is now the head of state."
"It's a very special one-off event. We are trying to make it different from what has been organised in Sarawak in the past.
"An events management company from Kuala Lumpur is organising it for us," Wahab told a press conference.
He said funds were raised by Barisan MPs and assemblymen. "We are sponsoring. It's a joint effort. The money is not from the Government, let me make it very clear."
Invited guests will include all Barisan elected representatives, senators, as well as retired politicians.
Interestingly, when Wahab was asked if members of the Teras group would be included, he replied: "Teras (members)... they claim to be Barisan, and even though there is no official position on Teras spelt out in public yet, as far as I know, they are Barisan. They say they are Barisan anyway. So yes, they'll be invited."
Wahab went on to say "with or without Teras" those elected representatives won on the Barisan ticket, and remained loyal to the coalition.
Among the organising committee members is first-term Mas Gading MP Anthony Nogeh, who is with SPDP. He declined to comment on political matters when approached by reporters.
Teras comprises 11 elected representatives (MPs and assemblymen) from SPDP, SUPP and SWP, whom were mostly facing internal rivalries in their original parties.
The formation of Teras has not been plain sailing, with leaders of other Barisan component parties like PRS and SUPP, saying that Teras should not be accepted as a coalition partner.
Presently, Teras is labelled as a "Barisan Plus" party, supportive of the coalition but not yet a component party.
Taib, 77, is the longest serving chief executive of the state. He was Chief Minister from March 26, 1981 until February this year. Taib assumed the Governorship on March 1.
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