By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 23: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan has called on Sarawakians to give his party a chance to take over the role of leading the opposition, arguing that Democratic Action Party (DAP) has already been given enough opportunities but failed to weaken Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
His call comes after DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen appealed to Sarawakians not to leave him and Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong alone in fighting GPS in the State Legislative Assembly.
However, Voon said Chong and Yong have already been given “many terms of opportunity” by Sarawakians, while DAP’s strength in the State Legislative Assembly has continued to decline.
“Instead of weakening GPS, the decline in DAP’s number of seats under their leadership has, in PBK’s view, contributed to GPS becoming stronger,” he said in a statement.
Voon said Sarawakians should now consider giving PBK the opportunity to take over as the leading opposition force, or even to form the government.
He said PBK wants to put “people first”, rather than “Malaya first” or “Sarawak first”.
Taking aim at the “Sarawak First” approach, Voon argued that mega infrastructure and development have benefited capitalists but have not sufficiently addressed the people’s basic needs.
He said having food on the table should be a priority, claiming that neither GPS nor DAP has met the expectations of Sarawakians in this regard.
Voon further called for an end to Malayan-style politics and the dominance of Malayan-based political parties in Sarawak, saying Sarawakians increasingly want local parties that understand the State’s interests, aspirations and political realities.
“The era of Malayan-style politics and Malayan-based political parties in Sarawak should come to an end,” he said.
PBK therefore called on Sarawakians to give local parties a stronger mandate and allow Sarawakians themselves to determine the future political direction of Sarawak. — DayakDaily
