Some photos taken during my visit to the Good Shepherd Church in Lutong. Present were En. Ripin Lamat, the Political Secretary to the Chief Minister of Sarawak and other BN Youth leaders from PBB, SUPP, SPDP and PRS.
Detail joint press release to follow in the various media tomorrow.
Dato Sri William made a wise move by apologising to SUPP on his recent remark on seat allocation for the BN component parties in Sarawak. Not many party President had openly apologise to another party or the general public over remarks they had made. Full news report here.
Out of context, I believe politicians should be brave enough to apologise for their ‘mistake’ or inability to serve the rakyat. It may not be what the YB wants, but sometimes these YBs should be responsible for the act of the agencies which are under them or within their constituency. Like the recent delivery of ‘fresh’ water supply to Sepupok Niah.
The YB or head of department may not have send the directive to deliver muddy water, but, they should take note of the quality of the deliveries. 1Malaysia or an Honour to Serve will be meaningless if the subordinates do not understand it and still take things for granted.
An investigation should be carry out to identify the culprit. What if the water delivered were contaminated? The lives of many rural communities would be in danger.
Kepada pegawai kerajaan yang terlibat, berfikir la sebelum buat.. Kalau anda tiday dapat meminum air itu, kenapa nak hantar juga? Tak boleh ke tanya pegawai atasan untuk mencari penyelesaian?
By Churchill Edward and Saibi Gi
Source: The Borneo Post
KUCHING: Senior Barisan Nasional (BN) Dayak leaders believe that if there is to be any re-distribution of seats among the coalition parties, the Kidurong state constituency should be prioritised.
Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) president Dato Sri William Mawan Ikom and Parti Rakyat Sarawak president Dato Sri Dr James Masing said they felt that this was apt, saying since the BN had lost twice consecutively in Kidurong, it may be timely that another BN component be given a chance to contest there in the next state polls.
Mawan and Masing were responding to a suggestion by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin that BN should review allocation of seats among component parties to suit the needs of the electorate.
Mawan suggested a review of Kidurong when he said: “BN has lost the seat to DAP twice consecutively (in the state polls of 2001 and 2006) whereas every time (SPDP treasurer-general) Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing contested in the (Bintulu) parliamentary seat (which includes Kidurong state constituency), the BN won,” he said.
Masing who also felt the Kidurong state seat should be subjected to review, said: “BN will have to discuss how best not to lose that seat again.”
Mawan and Masing both revealed that the BN had an understanding that if a component party had lost twice consecutively in a particular constituency – be it parliamentary or state – the seat would be subjected to a review.
According to the two leaders, seat arrangement is not only a strategy but a serious matter to ensure a BN victory at all cost in the next state election, due latest by early 2011.
Kidurong has been allocated to Sarawak United People’s Party headed by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan.
SUPP had lost the state seat twice to DAP’s Chiew Chiu Sing.
Apart from Kidurong, BN also lost in the Bandar Kuching parliamentary seat to the DAP twice consecutively – in 2004 and 2008 parliamentary elections.
The BN allocated this seat to SUPP twice but they lost it to state DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen.
Mawan, also Minister of Social Development and Urbanisation, said he supported Khaled’s suggestion.
“To me, it has always been the understanding among BN components that the allocation of seats be reviewed from time to time or when the need arises. As a matter of principle the BN should also talk about it,” he said.
“That need arises if, for instance, BN loses a particular seat twice consecutively,” he added.
Mawan said when one talked about seat redistribution, the overall interest of the BN must come first rather than that of individual component parties.
“The minister’s (Khaled) suggestion is something we should be looking into because it is very practical. As far as he and the BN in West Malaysia are concerned, he has hit the nail on the head.
“If BN loses again in any particular seat, we can say that BN as a whole is losing. So it is imperative for the BN to gain public confidence and return to its winning ways,” he said.
“Any individual component should not be self-centred. What is the point of being self-centred when one drags BN to lose seats? This will slowly weaken the BN and erode the spirit of teamwork,” he said.
“If a review is made, component parties must not interpret this as a ‘plus or minus’ thing but rather a strategy to win seats or win back seats it has lost,” he said.
According to him, if BN wins big the next time around, interest of every component party will be better taken care of.
On the Sarawak front, Mawan said he would let the BN leadership decide on seat allocation because this, according to him, is a major strategy rather than plan to boost the self -esteem of any individual party.
He said boosting self-esteem was something that could not be entertained in this current political time.
Masing who is the Land Development Minister, said Khaled was basically referring to the state of the BN in Peninsular Malaysia when he suggested his idea.
Nonetheless, he said even though the BN seat arrangement in Sarawak seemed to be working better than that in the Peninsula, the state BN must study the impact of such review carefully.
“The minister’s (Khaled) suggestion is something worthwhile looking into because of demographic changes which can occur in any seat over a period of time. This has been the understanding of the state BN,” he said.
According to Masing, there are things which the BN must tackle urgently to win back lost seats, including the swapping of seats among components.
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice president Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman said the state BN would only review seat arrangement if the grassroots demanded it.
However, the state BN may not want to disrupt the equilibrium of power by subtracting or adding seats of component members.
According to Daud, the state BN may want to maintain the status quo when it comes to the numbers’ game.
“PBB may be the backbone of BN in Sarawak but PBB will never resort to taking away seats already allocated to other components,” he insisted.
“What may happen is the swapping of seats by taking into account what the grassroots want,” he said.
He said he believed the allocation of seats depended heavily on the strength of parties in areas they represented.
“We must go back to the reality that BN’s victories in elections depend very much on the votes of the majority and that BN subscribes to the concept of power-sharing,” he said, urging component parties to be mindful of the political sensitivities surrounding the issue.
“BN elected representatives serve all races and communities regardless which component they come from,” he said.
PBB Youth chief Fadillah Yusof, meanwhile, said BN elected representatives must have quality and integrity as well as the sincerity to serve the people.
He said he agreed with Khaled’s suggestion to study the demography of each area when BN should decide to review seat allocation.
The flags are up.. and Parti Rakyat Sarawak will be sending their warrior to the battle this Sunday.
And with the support of the Sarawak Democratic Progressive Party, top leaders, Women Wing and Youth Wing coming from all over Sarawak..
Blessed by the leaders in Sarawak United People’s Party, our friend, Malcom Mussen, is set to win the battle against ex-YB Jawah Gerang and independent candidate, Johnny Chuat.
And guidance from the leaders of PBB.. this is THE battle to benchmark the political strength of the Barisan Nasional and the Pakatan Rakyat..
While we are in Batang Ai, and for some bloggers, it will be a new experience, please observe the rules and regulations – strictly!
To all campaigners.. all the best of luck! (oppss.. I don’t have photos of PKR workers).
In respond to the article “Independent’s MRP handouts raise eyebrow” published in the Borneo Post today, and, in the interest of the people of Engkilili, there is nothing wrong receiving MRP from any state assemblyman. Regardless whether the area is won by the BN or independent or the opposition, the people should not be a victim of their politics.
The people are Sarawakian anyway, hence, why need to divide them through political differences? Just because they did not voted for the government of the day, then they should be punished? What the government of the day should do is to go back and prove the opposition wrong by not stopping all kinds of assistance and development. Itu baru adil!
I do not understand why certain leaders said it was not right, while YB Abdul Karim rejected suggestions to says its unhealthy. What is healthy then? Probably these leaders should walk their talk! The Dayak community in Miri needs a temporary shelter, so, bank-in to this cause, immediately. Miri is a BN area all these while with Dayaks living there.
Or, maybe its time that all Dayak areas should have a temporary shelter for the rural poor to stay while attending to their needs in the city or towns. Why must we wait for our Chinese brothers to think about it?
With this opportunity, I would like to thank the State governemnt for the MRP and to YB Dr. Johnicol for the RM65,000 of tax payers money that have been given back to the people.
How do we measure BN’s success in rural areas?
What is success? How do we measure success? With whom should we compare it to? Is our rural roads a symbol of BN’s success? Is the “tunggu peruntukkan” a short-cut answers to these questions? Why worry if PR have 30-40 people attending their function when BN have a strong support at these areas? Why can’t the people give them a try?
Its like buying a car.. if you don’t like Proton, can always switch to D-Max, anyway.. right? Win or lose, we shall see after that lahh..
The Chinese leaders are worry..
If you ask me.. the only way for me to see what is happening in the rural areas if via reliable blogs by bloggers from the rural areas.. If we are to wait for the government to give us a good briefing.. poorraahhhh! Then, we wait and should attend their ceramah after nomination day!
To the rural voters, their worries are on the prices of pepper, rubber and palm oil. To the Chinese politicians, all seat are unsafe (for now).
