By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 18: Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) Youth has questioned what it described as a double standard in Sarawak United Peoples’ Party’s (SUPP) application of the principle of political consistency, asking since when accompanying the Prime Minister on an official function had become synonymous with political endorsement.
Responding to recent remarks by SUPP leader and Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap concerning PDP president and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, PDP Youth Central Committee deputy chief Yiak Chiong Wei said the comments were politically motivated and appeared aimed at creating divisions within Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) for political mileage.
He further accused certain individuals of exploiting Sarawakian sentiments for personal political gain.
Yiak said that party president had merely accompanied Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to a public engagement programme in Johor, where they listened to public feedback and briefed attendees on the nation’s development agenda and ongoing reform efforts.
According to him, the programme focused on explaining that national reforms require time, cooperation and support from all sectors of society, while highlighting the government’s efforts to strengthen Malaysia’s economic competitiveness, boost investor confidence and improve public service delivery.
“Was Yap genuinely unaware of these facts, or did he deliberately choose to equate accompanying the Prime Minister in the course of official duties with supporting Pakatan Harapan (PH)?
“If it is the former, then it is an unfortunate oversight. If it is the latter, then it amounts to a deliberate attempt to mislead,” he said in a statement posted on PDP social media today.
This follows Tiong’s presence at a PH campaign event in Muar on June 15, which had attracted attention amid the heated Johor state election campaign. On June 16, GPS clarified that the presence of Tiong in the event was entirely in his personal capacity with no connection to the coalition.
Yiak stressed that the Johor trip was undertaken at the Prime Minister’s instruction and noted that Tiong, as a federal minister, had official responsibilities to fulfil.
“More importantly, since when did accompanying the Prime Minister on an official engagement automatically become synonymous with political endorsement?” he asked.
Referring to Yap’s assertion that political positions must remain consistent and that consistency between words and actions earns public trust, Yiak challenged SUPP to apply the same principle to its own leaders.
“If accompanying the Prime Minister on official engagements is truly tantamount to supporting someone politically, then will SUPP leaders also commit themselves, in the name of this so-called principle of consistency, to never again attend meetings chaired by the Prime Minister, official functions, grant announcement ceremonies, or even federal government programmes and events?” he said.
Yiak argued that principles only hold value when applied equally to everyone.
“If this so-called principle of consistency applies to PDP, then surely it ought to apply equally to SUPP. Otherwise, one set of standards is imposed on others while another is conveniently reserved for oneself.
“That is not principle. That is a double standard,” he said.
He further pointed out that SUPP frequently advocates for Sarawak’s rights and interests while continuing to maintain normal working relations and cooperation with the federal government.
“However, when Tiong performs his duties as a federal minister at the instruction of the Prime Minister, he is suddenly and deliberately branded with political labels.
“The question therefore is this: is he merely carrying out his responsibilities as a federal minister, or is his conduct being deliberately politicised and mischaracterised? The public can judge for themselves,” he said.
Yiak also criticised what he described as attempts to manufacture political conflicts and sustain relevance through attacks on allies.
“Politics should not be about manufacturing conflicts, nor should it be about sustaining relevance by labelling one’s allies,” he said.
He maintained that ordinary Sarawakians were more concerned about practical issues such as infrastructure, water supply, employment opportunities and local development than political narratives surrounding official engagements.
“PDP Youth has always maintained that politics should return to its fundamental purpose: serving the people,” he said.
Yiak urged politicians to focus on policy proposals, securing development resources and addressing bread-and-butter issues instead of creating controversies for publicity.
He also accused some politicians of seeking attention by assigning political motives to actions that were never intended to carry such meanings.
“Treating Sarawakian sentiment as a political ATM, turning ‘Sarawak First’ into a convenient weapon to silence dissent, and portraying every differing opinion as a betrayal of Sarawak is not only shallow politics, it is an insult to the feelings and intelligence of Sarawakians themselves,” he said.
He added that SUPP should refrain from making Tiong the subject of daily political attacks simply to generate headlines and remain politically visible. — DayakDaily
