KUCHING: DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen should not talk about helping the rural community when some of the party’s lawyers and elected representatives are acting for timber and plantation companies in native customary rights (NCR) cases.
PKR Sarawak secretary Nicholas Bawin said there was no point for Chong to blow his trumpet about championing the cause of the rural community when DAP did not only address the core issue affecting them but also acted against their interests.
“That is their rights to land, but worse many DAP lawyers and elected representatives are acting against the interests of the native people,” he told a press conference, here, yesterday.
Bawin’s claim is supported by PKR Sarawak Youth deputy chief Simon Siah, who had personal experience in dealing with a DAP lawyer and elected representative who represented a plantation company.
Bawin said what the DAP was doing seemed to echo BN’s patronising tactic of giving the people projects but at the same time enable others to deprive the natives of their lands, which are their life and blood.
He also wanted Chong to explain his invitation to Sarawak BN on March 15 this year to form a unity government with Pakatan Rakyat if Putrajaya was won by Pakatan Rakyat.
“As expected, Chong’s statement was rejected by the state BN leaders. However, we would like Chong to explain his invitation to Sarawak BN to form a unity government so that we can understand the plans he has for Sarawak.
“What was he hoping to achieve by that invitation and what role would the Sarawak BN have in the unity government?”
Bawin said after being rebuffed by the Sarawak BN in April this year, Chong asked PKR Sarawak to leave PR and form a new alliance with DAP.
“He has chosen to cut ties with PKR Sarawak for dubious reasons and then wanted to talk to us again, which is rather puzzling.”
Bawin said instead of accusing PKR of not moving to the rural areas which allowed DAP to move in, Chong should take care of his own backyard before passing judgment on others and belittling their efforts.
“PKR has been working hard to engage with and build relationships with the rural communities for many years and is continuing to do so.”
He said what was obvious to Sarawakians was that Chong always had an intention of picking a fight with PKR Sarawak for the past one year and continued to attack PKR Sarawak since July last year.
“At that time, they accused our chairman (Baru Bian) of not having an unequivocal stand on the implementation of hudud when it is a well known fact that Baru has in fact made his stand very clear on that at least on two occasions.
“When that excuse was proven to be an embarrassing lie, Chong accused PKR of greedily wanting to contest in 50 seats in the next elections. We merely proposed that for the purpose of a baseline for seat negotiations, the three parties should start from the seats contested in the last state elections.
“We were very disappointed that Chong saw fit to disclose the proceedings of the meeting without our consent, and in fact, twisted the facts to suit his purposes.”
Bawin also made it clear that it was Chong who declared that DAP would no longer have anything to do with PKR, even before the Kelantan state government passed the Hudud Law Bill on March 19.
“Our chairman has said on numerous occasions that DAP and PKR knew all along that hudud law was an agenda of PAS ever since the party came into existence, but the coalition agreed to it nevertheless.
“Baru has also said that hudud was never an agenda of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and he has made his stand against the implementation of hudud very clear, to the point of submitting a private member’s motion in the State Legislative Assembly in April this year that hudud should never be implemented in Sarawak.”
He said as far as PKR was concerned, the party had always been consistent in its principles and stand on issues facing the people, adding that the party had never lost sight of the fact that the BN was their enemy, and not DAP.
PKR hoped that DAP would cease baiting PKR for this was not a ‘playground fight between school children’, adding that both parties should bear in mind that they were in this battle for the good of Sarawakians and not to feed their egos.
- Borneo Post
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