KUCHING, Oct 31: Keeping silent will not solve problems, says Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Youth chief Gerald Rentap Jabu.
According to him, the issue of the native customary rights (NCR) land surveys is of utmost importance and its progress on the ground should not be hampered.
“…being ‘silent’ (as Baru claimed he had done) does not solve issues. The survey of NCR land is very important especially to the Dayaks to protect our land — be it perimeter under Section 6, Section 18 (individual lots) or Native Territorial Domain surveys.
“And denying funding, or putting conditions is tantamount to denying the natives of their rights.
“The GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) government makes every effort to further protect Sarawak and her subjects’ rights in the context of being an equal partner forming Malaysia.
“There is no need to be polite if by not being so you can make it better for Sarawakians,” Rentap opined in a statement today, in support of Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
Baru had recently denied giving consent or agreeing with the Sarawak government’s move to conduct perimeter surveys on NCR land under Section 6 of the State Land Code.
Baru, who co-chaired the federal-state governments Action Committee with Uggah, had said it was wrong for the latter to assume that consent was given when he did not voice any objection or disagreement during the “New Initiatives on Survey of NCR Land in Sarawak” meeting on March 18 and June 28 this year.
Baru’s statement was issued to respond to Uggah, who was reported as saying on Monday (Oct 28) that there was no voice of dissension and the consent was duly recorded in the minutes of the federal-state governments Action Committee meeting on June 28.
Uggah reiterated that during the subsequent meeting of the committee on Sept 27, when the minutes were read out for confirmation, there was also no dissenting voice.
To this, Baru said he was just trying to be polite and that the Majlis Tindakan Negeri Sarawak (MTNS) was not the right forum for policies of either federal or state governments to be made and it was fundamentally formed to supervise and monitor the implementation of all federal government projects and programmes for the people of Sarawak.
“I believe that as the minister representing the federal government and with YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah, Deputy Chief Minister Sarawak both as co-chairmen of MTNS….they would have discussed on issues related not only to fundings but policies which eventually need financial allocations to be implemented,” said Rentap.
He added that if the MTNS is not the forum for such discussions affecting Sarawakians, then “let us Sarawakians know what is”. — DayakDaily
