PBB, PRS, DAP and SPDP all running scared from facing the rakyat at the S4S debate on 10 April

By Peter John Jaban

The S4S debate will proceed on 10 April 2016 with most of the parties with seats in the Dewan Undangan Negeri – PBB, PRS, DAP and SPDP – all running scared from facing the Rakyat. 

 

Peter John Jaban (centre) with other S4S members

 Only PKR have the courage to send their party leader, Baru Bian, and SUPP will also send a representative to debate, along with several other parties contesting in the next election, such as STAR and PBDS. 

The debate remains a chance for the Rakyat to air their own views and have them heard by the politicians as well as to hear what these two parties have to say. For those parties which choose not to attend, the message they are sending is clear: their focus is on winning an election and safeguarding Sarawak is a distant second. 

Therefore, S4S will be suggesting that its supporters vote accordingly – the election is only one day, the five years in between is what really counts and the last 53 years have given all the incumbents a very poor record.

We are not concerned. We see S4S as one force in the growing political awakening of Sarawak.  After all, our first 22 July protest attracted only a few hundred.

 Last year, we numbered in the thousands and the political elite were forced to act. This year, who knows? The same goes for the debate. This year we have SUPP and PKR and a number of other parties displaying the courage to put their money where their mouth is at the debate.

Next year, when those who chose to dismiss us have seen the real outcome of their decision, perhaps they will be asking us for an invitation.”

Norway, the country widely considered to have the best functioning democracy in the world, conducts political debates in the campaign period, while in America, political debates are considered an integral part of the democratic process – even the presidential candidates do not consider them above it.

 In the UK, petitions with over 100,000 signatures are usually brought up in Parliament and they have a population of over 60 million; our petition has 300,000 signatures.

Any politician who feels he can afford to put at risk the votes of 10% of Sarawakians, must be either extremely arrogant or very confident that the system will deliver the result his way whether he responds to the Rakyat or not. Given the widespread manipulation of constituencies, both by numbers and along racial lines, it is no surprise that some of them are.”

Sarawakians are fed up with the feudal mentality of many politicians in the state.  Those who fail to see the writing on the wall and maintain their ‘Jangan lawan towkay’ approach to the Rakyat are likely to be punished at the polls.

Masing says he has more ‘important priorities’.  What is more important than sharing with the voting public how you plan to safeguard Sarawak?  This is why Sarawak is in the terrible state that it is in, with YBs like Masing looking the other way.

 Abang Johari says the CM does not need to attend.  This is quite true, but equally we do not need to vote for his party. YB Chong has come up with all kinds of excuses that do not hold up. 

If he has the courage to fight, then he must show it. The event has already received police approval and we have, of course, taken the appropriate legal advice so it seems somewhat redundant to claim that it is illegal as a reason for not attending.”

This is a new era in political democracy in Sarawak. In fact, BN arranged their own debate but the moderator, Idris Buang, spoke more than the participants!

The older ministers and their style of ‘rule’ rather than ‘represent’, will pass into history as the dinosaurs have because they fail to see the reality of the age of the internet and egalitarianism.  Even those English language dailies that seem to be boycotting our press statements should be warned that the readers are now simply going round them, direct to the source.

The Rakyat have let you do it your way for over 50 years with Sarawak’s rights. You have failed her - Sarawak’s freedoms are in a worse state than when you took over. So now the Rakyat must force you into a new way of working.”

The group confirmed it was informed by telephone conversation with the Chief Minister’s Private Secretary that he still wanted to meet with them but ‘not yet’. They were further informed that he was unlikely to attend the debate as he had chosen to put other events first. 

We did not ask for a meeting. The Chief Minister suggested it to the media and we agreed. The group are confused that he now seems to be backpedalling.

If he was showboating for the media, then we suggest that politicians should not play so fast and loose with their promises – it is a poor way to build trust.

However, we maintain that we are open to a meeting if he is indeed sincere.  So far, we have not received any official confirmation, only the media protestations of the more junior cabinet members. Whether that is at the Chief Minister’s instigation or not, remains to be seen.”

Therefore, S4S urges its supporters to move ahead with this pioneering event and to judge the candidates with the courage to attend on their actions.  Their sincerity on Safeguarding Sarawak is under the spotlight.

All Sarawakians have seen many political promises crumble to dust once the polls have been counted. Those that have chosen to ignore this chance to prove their commitment, have already fallen short. There can be no greater priority than the future of our state and all political hopefuls should remember this.

For ticket sales, please contact KC Tan on 016 886 1810.  There will be 100 tickets available free to Political Science university students interested to attend. Please show your student pass to collect your free ticket.

For further details, I can be contacted at 016 8605272 or  KC Tan 016 8861810.