Rural people still supporting BN, says Minos

KUCHING: It is not easy for Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or any component of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to dislodge Barisan Nasional (BN) in six Bidayuh State Assembly seats, said Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) deputy publicity chief, Dato’ Peter Minos.

“Rural people are still hungry for development and they trust that only BN can bring development to them.

“That is the mood and perception in the villages and BN can only lose by default if the candidate is not good and not wanted by the peo

ple, if the incumbent has a bad record of not helping the people or are careless and take thing easy,” said Minos in an interview today.

He said the rural people actually have no problem with BN, adding that between BN and PKR majority of them will go for BN.

“I will vote BN no matter what because it has been proven that BN makes good government,” he added.

Minos said among the four BN’s component parties in Sarawak – Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) PBB is the most united and solid and is very will led by a capable president.

“PBB, SPDP and PRS will be alright but the worry is SUPP because past trend shows that supp will not face easy time.

“Supp must treat its Bumiputera voters happy and treat them well in practice. Words only is not good enough. Supp must solve the many problems in Opar and Bengoh constituencies,” he stressed.

Opar and Bengoh are the two Bidayuh seats represented by SUPP, apart from Serian Parliamentary seat.

Ranum Mina and Dr Jerip Susil are the representatives for Opar and Bengoh respectively while Datuk Richard Riot is the Member of Parliament for Serian.

Minos said SUPP must solve the many land problems in both Opar and Bengoh before the election.

He said many big villages like Kampung Stenggang want SUPP to act and help, and do it fast.

“SUPP must not pretend that the problem does not exist. Supp must also sort out and help those affected by the Bengoh Dam in Bengoh.

“Make them happy, re-locate them fast and the Bidayuh in Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) area still want a Bidayuh to become chairman of MPP, which was pending since 1963,” said Minos who is also chairman of the Bung Bratak Heritage Association.

The former president of Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) also pointed out that many villages in Bengoh are without treated water and electricity, the problem which SUPP must immediately help to solve.

“SUPP should not just say it is a multi-racial, fair and just to all but must also be seen and actually be so to the Bidayuh in Opar and Bengoh who wanted to be treated fairly and justly and not shabbily,” he stressed.

“How to sell SUPP if the people and voters are not happy with them if SUPP is not solving the people problems?” he asked.

In an interview with The Star recently SUPP secretary general Datuk Amar Sim Khen Hui said he did not agree with the statement that the party has neglected the Bidayuh in Bengoh and Opar constutencies, but promised it will better its services to the Bidayuh community.

He said the party leadership had always reminded its representatives hat they much work hard in the constituencies they are representing and the same applied to Opar and Bengoh.

He agreed that there are certain issues and projects which could not be solved and implemented during the present term, but said the party leadership will look into it in the next term.

He also quashed allegations that SUPP is only concentrating in solving the issues in urban areas and among the Chinese community but not its seat in the urban areas and the other communities.

There has been guessing game with regard to Dr Jerip candidacy as many aspiring candidates in Bengoh had indicated their interest to be nominated to replace Dr Jerip.

Meanwhile when asked to comment on Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman’s statement, Minos said if what Daud said was true, it is not right for anyone to bluff or lie to the Prime Minister.

He said only the non-effective and careless State Assemblyman will lie of their chances.

“That the big trouble with some BN’s MP and ADUN, they do anything to hang on including lying, bluffing, selling and dropping Prime Minister, Chief Minister and ministers names.

“They are the rotten apples in BN and BN must not rope them in because they are dark spots in BN,” said Minos.
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Sarawak State Elections: Is Sarawak PKR up to par to lead?

Sarawak is facing a state election which many feel will be held by May this year. Is the opposition really ready? More precisely, is PKR really in the position to assume leadership of the opposition?

By most accounts, it is going to be a mother of all elections. For one thing, there is little doubt that the ruling coalition is facing its toughest test as the present Chief Minister is probably at the tail end of his long and controversial political life. For another, there is the question of a successor administration: who, or which group will wear the mantle of state leadership after the current one is eased out?

It is an open secret that there are a few possible centres of power on both sides of the political divide that are beginning to emerge and they are all working to carve out their own political lebensraum in post-election Sarawak. Speculations about the state BN involve, among others, on who will take the plum post of Chief Minister? Will it go, no matter how briefly, to a long servile, subservient and suffering Dayak leader? Or will a more upstanding and capable one be brought back from KL to Sarawak to take over the reins? But that is not our concern today. Our focus here is the state opposition, particularly PKR and its state of affairs.

For a while now the party presumes that it is the lead organization in the opposition. There is ample evidence for this presumption. For instance, in the allocation of seats, PKR makes the argument that it should take the lion share of seats to be contested in Sarawak.

Does PKR Sarawak deserve this role of lead organization which it feels entitles it to take a big chunk of seats available for contest in the coming election? Let us look at the facts.

First, let us look at the structural design of the party as a whole. PKR is a national party which is led by the President and the Central Leadership Council in Kuala Lumpur. There are a lot of advantages to being a national party, just as there are a number of disadvantages as well. Of the latter, lets look at the request for some form of autonomy, for instance. Some in PKR Sarawak have been clamouring for some form of local autonomy so that local leaders could decide on matters at their own level. Admittedly, there have been promises of some form of local decision-making but that is as far as it has gone. Promises were believed to have been made, but not delivered. In the ill-fated adventure of the Batang Ai by-election for instance, the eventual selection of the candidate was believed to have been against local and formal recommendations. In other words, the Centre (Kuala Lumpur) has tended to be deaf and blind to local conditions and opinions.

Second, there is the matter of state PKR leadership. In the last five years there have been at least five state leaders. First there was Dato’ Hafsah Harun, an elder statesperson, then there was YB Dominic Ng who was succeeded by Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Mustaffa Kamal Ayub and finally by Baru Bian himself. Five state heads in five years do not bode well for organizational stability, no matter how good the heads are. Indeed, it makes Sarawak PKR very much like the Italy of the post-war years, where governments rise and fall with unnerving frequency.

Why were there such frequent changes in Sarawak state heads by the Central leadership under Anwar Ibrahim? One explanation is that PKR Sarawak is wrecked by factionalism. There are simply too many groups that seemed to be able to reach the top of the decision-making structure in Kuala Lumpur. Changes were made seemingly without too much consideration for stability and long term impact. Thus very often people who should have stayed much longer to effect more changes and strength for the party in Sarawak found their services terminated because the central leadership was listening more to their rivals’ arguments.

Third, the present PKR Sarawak is divided into a number of informal spheres of influence. As a multiracial party, this is not supposed to happen. But the reality is that the Bidayuhs have one informal paramount leader; the Orangs Ulu another, the Ibans yet another. Likewise, the Malay-Melanau also have one paramount leader, although his hold on this position appears to remain tenuous.

The bulk of PKR apparent strength, such as it has been, is found in the Dayak areas (Iban, Orang Ulu, and Bidayuh). As for the Malay-Melanau areas, the party has not been making much inroads, except for constituencies in the Betong Division. Indeed, it is doubtful whether the party could find really suitable candidates for most of the coastal constituencies (Malay and Melanau). How is this possible? What are the missing ingredients here? Why focus on inland constituencies and be basically non-existent in coastal ones? What is at play here? The Central leadership of PKR in Kuala Lumpur has a lot to answer for this.

Fourth, a number of observers are convinced that PKR is not serious about the state party politics. The argument goes something like this: so long as a particular seat goes to the opposition, it matters little which party it belongs to because it is in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and PKR is the head organization in PR. This being the case although the Centre would prefer that people identify themselves with PKR, it is not absolutely necessary that this should happen.

Fifth, there is the matter of current developments in the party. To many observers, that PKR Sarawak is in turmoil is the product of constant manoeuvres by different and differing factions. There was, it was said, a very recent move to remove the current head, Baru Bian which led to the man losing his post in the Central level. Then there is another unresolved problem: who is supposed to run in which constituency? Different lists are said to be proffered to the Central leadership for consideration. There are other goings on as well, but these are perhaps best left unstated.

Sixth, there is the curious role of the party’s apparent “courtiers” who have evidently attached themselves to the party’s state leadership. They have been making outrageous statements in which they tried to ridicule fellow opposition parties and their leaders. These publicists and “courtiers” ought to exhibit statesmanship and bold plans for collective actions. Instead, they have tried to seek sympathy by their outbursts. Are they trying to push political parties out of Pakatan in Sarawak?

For a party which is of very recent vintage, the impact of these internal struggles has been debilitating for PKR Sarawak, to say the least. Many potential supporters feel that this is a party that “cannot shoot straight”. PKR Sarawak would want to lead the coalition against the state government in the coming election but clearly it is in no position to do so. Structurally, it is organized in such a way that the top leadership under Anwar Ibrahim has continued to tinker with the state party machinery with unsettling frequency.

Further, powerful figures in PKR Sarawak seemed unable to stop undermining one another. Why, the latest spate of changes in the leadership musical chair happened only a few weeks ago. Furthermore, despite its multiracial stance and past efforts, the party is largely limited to Dayak support. Then there is this problem of terminal factionalism: it has stymied the party’s efforts in strengthening itself and election preparations, one or two exceptions notwithstanding.

Sarawak PKR appears to be wallowing in a morass of its own making. And for this it has to thank its many local factions and their allegedly multiple candidates’ lists and the interventionism of its Central leadership in Kuala Lumpur.

Is PKR therefore ready for the coming election? Time will tell. For the moment, PKR Sarawak certainly appears to be preoccupied with what observers have euphemistically refer to as “internal matters.”


TOMAS MADANG ANAK IJAU
PKR Member, Kota Samarahan
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SUPP Sec-Gen disagree SUPP neglecting the Bidayuh

KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) secretary general Datuk Amar Sim Khen Hui did not agree with the statement that the party has neglected the Bidayuh in Bengoh and Opar constutencies, but promised it will better its services to the Bidayuh community.
“We have to work hard and we had always reminded our representatives that they much work hard in the constituencies they are representing and the same applied to the two constituencies (Bengoh and Opar),” he said.
He agreed that there are certain issues and projects which could not be solved and implemented during the present term, but said the party leadership will look into it in the next term.
“Anyway I also would like to urge the people in the two constituencies to be patient because not all projects and problems could be implemented and solved at one time,” he added.
He also quashed allegations that SUPP is only concentrating in solving the issues in urban areas and among the Chinese community but not its seat in the urban areas and the other communities.
“It is not true at all because our party is multi-racial party and we serves all communities regardless of race, religion and the area,” he added.
Sim was asked to comment on the grudges of the Bidayuh in seats which is represented by the party.
SUPP have two State Assembly seats in the Bidayuh majority areas, namely Bengoh and Opar and one Parliamentary seat of Serian.
Dr Jerip Susil and Ranum Mina is the Bengoh and Opar State Assemblymen respectively while Datuk Richard Riot is the Member Parliament for Serian. Richard has been appointed as the Deputy Foreign Minister.
On whether Dr Jerip and Ranum would be re-nominated to defend their respective seat in the forthcoming state election, Sim said at the moment both are in the list.
He however did not ruled out last minute changes, adding that the party wants only winnable candidates.
There has been guessing game with regard to Dr Jerip candidacy as many aspiring candidates In Bengoh has indicated their interest to be nominated to replace Dr Jerip.
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SPDP Mambong on membership recruitment drive

SARAWAK Progressive and Democratic Party (SPDP) Youth exco member Khairuddin Abdul Kadir had called on the party’s leaders at the grassroot level to recruit more youths to become new members of the party.

“Recruit more youths as new members of the party because that is the new strategy being practiced by all political parties now,” he said a meeting organised by Wanita SPDP Bengoh at Kampung Emperoh Jambu in Padawan yesterday.
He said they are still many among the youths who are partyless and should be invited to become members of the party.
Khairuddin, a Bidayuh from Kampung Danu said the party headquarters will improve its database to ensure a more effective communication networking among the party’s members.
SPDP president Datuk Seri William Mawan had recently said the party need to recruit more members particularly from among the youths, and has set up a target to recruit not less than 20,000 members this year.
On another matter, Khairuddin confirmed that both Bengoh and Tarat branch, including the Wanita Wing will be sending their delegates and observers to the party’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Feb 26 and 27 in Bintulu.
To further strengthen the presence of the party in both constituencies, Khairuddin urged effort be made to recruit more youths as new members.
On the Family Day to be organized by SPDP Wanita of Bengoh and Tarat on Fabruari 12 at Kampung Emperoh Jambu, Khairuddin said it was a very good start for SPDP Mambong Division this year and hoped that more activities will be organised.
Meanwhile SPDP Bengoh and Tarat branch in its annual general meeting recently has adopted and agreed to bring up two resolutions to the party’s AGM in Bintulu on Fabruary 26 and 27.
Its Bengoh’s chairman Joseph Rangges said the two resolutions are to urged the State government to survey and to give out land title to all NCR land while the second resolution was to ask the party top leadership to give back the two counselors quota back to SPDP Bengoh and Tarat respectively .
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