KUCHING, March 29 2026: State rights activist Peter John Jaban (picture) has expressed his strong objection to any move to grant Bumiputera status to the third generation of Sarawakians of Chinese descent.
“We accept the Chinese Sarawakians as part of our society as they belong to Sarawak,” he said when responding to Julau MP Larry Sng’s suggestion for the state government to grant the Bumiputera status to the third generation of Sarawakians of Chinese descent.
“Indigenous status, however, refers to one’s original roots, as legally recognised.
“Do we want a situation where a foreigner could one day become our Premier or Governor, as some have argued has happened in Sabah?” he asked.
He said non-indigenous Sarawakians are not eligible to claim Native Customary Rights (NCR) land, saying that these rights are deeply tied to culture, survival, and identity.
In his recent Tuak Talk podcast, Sng, who is also Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) president, has suggested to the Sarawak government to consider granting the Bumiputera status to the third generation of Sarawakians of Chinese descent.
Earlier today, PBB information chief Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah explained that any effort to redefine the term “Bumiputera” must comply with the the provisions of Federal Constitution and the State Constitution.
He said there is a need to look at what the two constitutions say on who qualifies to be called “Bumiputera” before any proposal is adopted to extend the Bumiputera status to the third generation Sarawakians of Chinese descent.
“Any change to redefine the status must go through the appropriate legislative process,” Karim, who is also the Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, told reporters at his ministry’s Hari Raya open house at a hotel here.
He said he is not surprised with Sng’s recent suggestion saying that the Julau MP was playing politics.
Last year, Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen had also made similar suggesti
No comments:
Post a Comment