The defectors are from SPDP’s Meluan division.
Teras Meluan advisor Meringai Angoi, according to the portal, said SPDP members defected to Teras because they no longer believed in the party’s struggle anymore.
“SPDP Meluan is like an abandoned ship. They do not even have an office and the power struggle among three lobbyists for the right to contest in Meluan for Barisan Nasional (BN) has made the situation worse.
“We feel that people on the ground have been neglected because of their intense politicking,” the news portal reported him as saying.
Meringai however stressed the group would not be distracted by SPDP’s politicking and that they would rally behind BN.
He also said they were confident BN would pick a candidate from the Teras camp, not only because the party enjoyed majority support but also because Teras was more organised.
Both SPDP and Teras are BN component parties.