KUCHING, Nov 22: Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen has described the statement made by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg of having more Chinese representation in the Sarawak government from Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) recently as merely ‘cosmetic’ and not effective to defend the rights of the Chinese people.
He claimed the statement made by Abang Johari is outdated alongside a narrative with the intent to instill racial sentiment.
Chong, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak chairman thus questioned the intention of Abang Johari who called for more Chinese representation in the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government.
He also claimed that SUPP who fights for Chinese rights is powerless and ineffective in the Sarawak Cabinet despite having a few ministers there.
“Why does Abang Johari want this (Chinese representation) in his government? He only wants some ‘cosmetic ministers’ to project a so-called multi-racial Cabinet of the state government of Sarawak.
“Whereas all the decision-making solely rests with PBB (Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu).
“So, SUPP ministers in Cabinet are at most ‘cosmetic’ and not effective,” he said during a press conference at the DAP headquarters here today.
To recap, Abang Johari had on Nov 8 addressed the Chinese community during the launching of the new Batu Kawah Riverbank Park project in Batu Kawah that the GPS government needed strong Chinese representation after the 12th Sarawak Election.
He said SUPP president Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian together with his comrades must be in the GPS government for Sarawak to be developed.
Meanwhile, Chong recalled that when SUPP was in its prime in the 80s and early 90s, there were no allocations for Chinese schools despite having a Finance Minister who is a Chinese then in the Sarawak Cabinet.
He cited many land issues then faced by the Chinese community were not resolved.
On the contrary, Chong claimed that some of the land issues were gradually solved when there were more DAP lawmakers elected into the Sarawak Legislative Assembly after 2006 and 2011.
He noted there were also allocations for Chinese schools after 2006 and 2011.
Apart from that, Chong who is also Kota Sentosa incumbent believed the key to defending the rights of any race is to have more balanced political powers, for instance from the ruling government and the Opposition.
Only then can the rights of the people be taken care of by the government. — DayakDaily
