Source: http://sarawakupdate.com
PENANG – Seat allocation among Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has to be resolved as soon as possible so that the right candidates fielded would see the reality of PR taking over Petra Jaya, said State Treasurer, Violet Yong.
Representing DAP Sarawak in the PR, Violet who is also Pending State Assemblyman said this afternoon that there is no compromise on candidates as only the right ones who had grassroots support and the people’s welfare at heart would be voted in.
She said coupled with the spirit of Sibu by election with all component PR working together, the mission of the march to Putra Jaya would be accomplished.
Saying that time is limited here, she hoped that the selection of the constituency and the candidacy among themselves would be done soon so that they could get their machinery ready.
Infighting, she said hampers the path to take over the present government and despite losses in the recent by election in Galas and Batu Sapi, Violet said Sibu could be used as a yardstick to keep the momentum going for the State.
“Everyone has differences but we should unite ourselves for a better Malaysia, a better tomorrow. We owe it not to ourselves but our future generations to put our country in place to be shared by all races, as equals in Malaysia,” she added.
If PR is not united, she said, the people would look at them as no better than Barisan Nasional and thus the PR politicians are failing their duty to the rakyat assuring them of change for the better.
She said with the by election of Tenang coming up soon, the PR should not speculate on the result but rather each and everyone of them should be working to prepare the Sarawak State election.
Expressing her concern of the general perception of Malaysians, she said the fall of Perak and the few PR wakil rakyat who jumped ship had dented the credibility of the PR to a certain extend.
Saying that not only the people in Peninsula Malaysia are watching, so too are the people from Sabah and Sarawak.
“It is important that we regroup as by internal fightings, the people perceived us to be the same as BN. The news media had already painted the PR as not only not better than the BN but also evil.
Citing an example, she said when four MPs from PR were suspended from Parliament on 16th December 2010, the BN controlled media accused our action to defend ourselves as the “tyranny of the minority”.
Repeated lies, she said would become truth as the people could be gullible, especially the simple folks in rural Sarawak.
“Out of 222 Parliamentary seats, 31 will come from Sarawak. We have only 2 MPs so far, and a lot has to be done in order to ensure that we are not the “fixed deposit” of the BN,”
Sarawak she added is the 4th poorest state in Malaysia and infrastructure is 20 years behind Peninsula Malaysia.
She said a lot of the rural folks have no roads, no medical facility, no electricity and no water supply while a number did not even have homes to live in. In some Chinese areas, the school buildings are infested by termites and unsuitable for students. “As responsible political parties, we must help see that the rural folks in Sarawak are not discriminated against. They are equally citizens of Malaysia,” she added.
The Sibu win had been a windfall for the people as the federal government allocated RM5m to Independent Chinese Secondary Schools in Sibu, an unprecedented RM10m for Chinese Primary Schools in Sibu.
“Then we saw the reduction of land lease renewal premium, announced by the Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib on the eve of the by-election, roads being constructed in many towns and cities in Sarawak where opposition parties are strong. Yesterday, we see the coming of a new political era in Sarawak, when the Chief Minister announced an allocation of 2000 hectares of land for Independent Chinese Secondary Schools. Even land acquisition process had been halted with promise of better compensation,” she added.
Violet pointed out that this goes to show that BN knows that with strong opposition, they could not afford to neglect the plights of the people as opposition party would revealed it.
“If the change did not come this time, I am worry that the Penans will continue to be neglected, the Malay and Melanau kampongs continue to remain poor. Many of the Iban areas are not well looked after because the Ibans YBs are tolling the line of the Chief Minister. Thus, change we must to ensure all races enjoy the fruits of development, not just the top few. We can do it together,” she added.
No comments:
Post a Comment