PBDSB welcomes Sylvia John as women’s chief

Sylvia (seated right) is seen with PBDSB members including PBDSB president Cobbold John (seated centre) during a press conference about "Buletin PBDS Baru".

KUCHING, March 19: Sarawak Reform Party (STAR) women’s chief Sylvia John has resigned from the party to join Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) as PBDSB’s Protem Women’s Movement Chief.

Sylvia, who was born in Sibu and has since been moved to Tatau, said her resignation took immediate effect today.

She announced that she joint PBDSB to champion the rights of the indigenous people in Sarawak especially the Dayaks and the rights of Sarawak enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),

“I urge more Dayaks and fellow fighters to join PBDSB, which is a local Dayak party. We must unite in one party to become stronger. We must groom more ‘generals’ instead of ‘foot soldiers’.

“I supported PBDSB after the consistency it showed during the Tanjong Datu by-election. PBDSB is a relevant party to fight for the vision of having a Dayak as Chief Minister (may be male or female) by the year 2021.

“It is also a relevant party to seek resolutions for other Dayak issues such as native customary rights (NCR) land, the economic gap between rural and urban (communities), Dayak job opportunities in the public sector, restoration of the state’s rights under MA63, eradication of poverty among the Dayak community, respecting of Article 153 of the Federal Constitution and 100 per cent state control over its oil and gas,” said Sylvia in a statement today.

Sylvia who holds a diploma in Business Computing from Miri College of Informatics will be a potential candidate for the upcoming 14th General Election.

Meanwhile, PBDSB also launched the book “Buletin PBDS Baru”.

The book is available through PBDSB Youth deputy chief William Mangor (017-8590533) and its new protem women’s head Sylvia (019-8155180) at the price of RM35.

Two other books — “Let’s Chase Dayak Away” and “Aram Muru Dayak” — have been reprinted and are now sold for RM25 per copy.

Editor’s note: This article has been amended to correct a typo of Sylvia John’s name. Any inconvenience caused is regretted. — DayakDaily