KUCHING, Jan 31: Tamin assemblyman Christopher Gira Sambang does not want to see veteran politician Datuk Sri Edmund Langgu Saga being used by Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).
“PSB will take (sic) any means to attract any Dayak to support the party despite getting little support from other communities. To that, I, personally, do not like to see our veteran Dayak leaders being used by certain people for their political gain,” he opined.
It was a shock to him, he said, when he came to know about Langgu’s decision to make a comeback to politics by joining PSB after being retired for many years.
Though anyone has free will to join any party, he said, it was not necessary for the respectable Dayak leader to be involved with politics at his age of 85.
“It caught me by surprise when I noticed his involvement with PSB political scenario recently knowing the fact that he has retired from politics for years.
“I fully understand that it is his democratic right to support the party for his political platform, but for him to come back in politics, I don’t see the need for him,” he said in a statement today.
Despite his view that Langgu should remain retired from politics and let the younger generation take over, Christopher, who is also Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Tamin branch chairman, acknowledged he had no say in the veteran’s choice.
In a statement yesterday (Jan 30), Langgu announced his entry to PSB as he saw PSB as a multi-racial party with a manifesto which reflects his personal convictions about the way a government should rule.
Pointing out that the people of Sarawak especially the Dayaks have not been advancing much while under the lead of Barisan Nasional (BN) and now Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), he pledged to bring change in the upcoming state election together with other PSB leaders.
Commenting on this, PSB president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said the presence of a former deputy federal minister with vast experience in politics would definitely bring PSB to greater heights, according to a news report by MalayMail on Jan 30.
Langgu was the Federal Minister of Agriculture in 1976-1982, and successfully defended his position as Saratok Member of Parliament (MP) for five successive elections until 1986.
He is widely known and respected for his passion to fight for the rights of the Dayaks and to give voice to a multi-racial Sarawak. — DayakDaily
