Such ugly longhouse politics will create an undesirable impact on the Dayak community. Even longhouses and families are breaking up due to this trend in politics.
Who should be blamed for this ugly longhouse politics in Marudi?
According to SPDP leaders, the blame should be on the incumbent Marudi assemblyman and Teras secretary-general Sylvester Entri.
They say that the divisive trend among tuai rumah began after Entri was sacked from SPDP in 2011, when he roped in scores of tuai rumah to his side in order to strengthen his position as the Marudi assemblyman.
About 30 of these Entri’s “loyal” tuai rumah allegedly tried to stop the SPDP president and Social Development Minister William Mawan from visiting Ulu Teru longhouses on 22 October 2011.
The aim was partly to embarrass Mawan.
However, Mawan managed to visit several longhouses in Ulu Teru with the support of about 40 tuai rumah and created in the process, bitter bickering between his group and that of Entri’s group of tuai rumah.
Suddenly, Mawan resigned from SPDP and joined Entri’s Teras in May last year.
Mawan’s resignation has been described by his former SPDP members and supporters as the biggest “betrayal” of the party and the tuai rumah who had supported him.
His resignation created more animosity between pro-SPDP tuai rumah and pro-Teras tuai rumah.
SPDP claimed that the first thing Mawan and Entri did was to withdraw the appointments of tuai rumah, penghulu, pemanca and temenggong who are supporters and members of SPDP and replace them with their own supporters, members and even relatives.
This removal of community leaders is also said to have happened in constituencies controlled by Teras such as Tasik Biru, Pakan, Batu Danau and Bekenu.
SPDP alleged that tuai rumah and longhouse folk supporting the party were victimised when development projects already approved had been withdrawn. At times, their requests for development were ignored.
Teras has five elected state representatives – Mawan, Entri, Peter Nansian, Paulus Gumbang and Rosey Yunus. One of them is a full-fledged minister and three others are assistant ministers. Their appointments make Teras more “powerful and influential” in longhouse politics even though they are outside Barisan Nasional.
Using their ministerial powers, they dare to appoint their own supporters as community leaders, make promises for development and minor rural projects, and ignore areas controlled by SPDP. For this reason, many longhouse headmen follow them hoping for development projects.
But those who do not follow them are being victimised.
Early this month a group of 53 tuai rumah who are pro-SPDP met SPDP president Tiong King Sing telling him that development in their respective longhouses had been stopped or withdrawn.
They showed him pictures of incomplete roads, earth roads, poor longhouses conditions, absence of clean water and electricity.
They suggested to him to make an arrangement for them to meet with Chief Minister Adenan Satem to inform him of their problems.
“Maybe he (the CM) can come to our longhouses and see for himself the so-called development under the present assemblyman,” they were quoted as saying.
They also wanted to tell the CM that the SPDP candidate for Marudi in the coming state election should be Dr Penguang Manggil and alleged that Entri was practising the politics of divide and rule.
But a group of 62 longhouse chiefs who are pro-Teras defended Entri saying that he had done a lot for Marudi. There are tar-sealed roads, electricity supply and on-going water supply projects.
“We don’t support any candidate from SPDP as we already have an elected representative who has a proven track record in serving us in Marudi,” they were quoted as saying.
Marudi has about 200 longhouses.
The heated debates between the two groups of tuai rumah are an indication of the deep disunity among the Dayak voters and the ugliness of longhouse politics which are being exploited by those who want to perpetuate their political dominance in the rural areas.
Since the introduction of Community Chiefs and Headmen Ordinance 2004, the tuai rumah are appointed by the government upon recommendation of their local elected representative. This is the reason why they become not only the “eyes and ears” of the government, but they are also beholden to the assemblyman.
During elections, they are their chief campaigners who are tasked to campaign among the voters in their longhouses.
As longhouse chiefs, they even have the “authority” to tell the opposition not to campaign in their longhouses.
It clearly indicates the “important” role played by the tuai rumah in longhouse politics. Whoever can control them in any election has won half the electoral battle.
But as long as they are beholden to the state assemblymen and the government, there can never be peace and unity in the longhouses.
Perhaps, the solution is that tuai rumah should be elected “by the people and for the people”. But will the government agree?-The Ant Daily
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