By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, June 17: Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Youth members don’t have to aim for ministerial posts as they can also serve the community through different avenues like organising events and activities.
New PBB Youth chief Miro Simuh noted that the new trend is that people want to see the participation of the younger generation in politics.
While there is no youth representation in the State Cabinet presently, it is also a significant recognition that there are satisfactory numbers of PBB Youths who have been made elected representatives.
They are Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman representing Tupong, Aidel Lariwoo (Sadong Jaya), Allan Siden Gramong (Machan), Datuk Hamzah Ibrahim (Stakan), Azizul Annuar Adenan (Tanjung Datu), Royston Valentine (Tellian), Dato Gerald Rentap Jabu (Layar) and Miro himself (Serembu).
He also mentioned that one PBB Youth leader was made a Member of Parliament (MP), namely Lukanisman Awang Sauni representing Sibuti.
“The youth still need the experience and guidance from the elder leaders so we cannot just get rid of them in the party. That is why from time to time, the younger generation were given the opportunity to be part of the leadership of the party.
“So everybody that is given the opportunity (to serve) must utilise the opportunity and deliver well because we want to make sure that the confidence of the top leadership towards us will continue,” he told DayakDaily in a short interview via a phone call yesterday (June 16).
He also mentioned that the State Cabinet should not be the benchmark to signify the achievement of PBB Youth members.
“The most important thing is how we deliver in the party’s system and how we work with the government and to help the younger generation to achieve many things that we provided in the State through various fields such as entrepreneurship, agriculture, employment and education,” he added.
As the new PBB Youth chief, Miro said his prime target for the short term is to lead the PBB Youth wing to focus on working with other Youth wings of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties to strategise on how to face the 15th General Election (GE15) together.
“We want to make sure that we are going to win the GE15 handsomely like what we did with the State election before this. So preparation is a must.
“We cannot be ‘bidan terjun’ (to create something instantly) in politics. We will make sure that we go into the election prepared from every aspect and try to win as many seats as we can,” he stated.
GPS is made up of four component parties namely PBB, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).
Miro, now 50-years-old, first joined PBB when he was 24.
He was appointed an Exco of PBB Youth in 2012, before becoming the deputy Youth chief in 2018.
Replacing the outgoing PBB Youth chief Dato Gerald Rentap Jabu, Miro is now the first Bidayuh to helm the post.
Presently, the PBB Youth Wing now has a membership numbering 26,000 members. — DayakDaily
