Stop criticising Sarawak DAP over its appeal to Sarawakians for more YBs, PBK president told

KUCHING, Aug 25 2026: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan has been asked to stop criticising the Sarawak DAP over its appeal to the people to  elect its candidates into the State Legislative Assembly (SLA) in the coming state election.

 Caption: Sarawak DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) organising secretary Chong Hong Hien says he wonders if PBK is genuinely committed to serving the people of Sarawak and truly wants to be the eyes and ears of Sarawakians in SLA 

Sarawak DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) organising secretary Chong Hong Hien said PBK should look at itself before crticising the Sarawak DAP.

“PBK is a very typical election party. Since the 2021 Sarawak state election, it has yet to establish even a single basic service centre.

“More importantly, despite not having established any service centre, PBK was nevertheless able to travel to Sabah to participate in the Sabah state election held at the end of last year,” Chong said in a statement.

He wondered if PBK is genuinely committed to serving the people of Sarawak and truly wants to be the eyes and ears of Sarawakians in SLA, overseeing the Sarawak government, then it should not merely keep repeating the seemingly attractive slogan of ‘Sarawak independence’.

“ Instead, it should serve the people of Sarawak on the ground, reach out to communities, understand the problems faced by the people, and criticise unfair and unreasonable policies of the Sarawak government,” he said.

Chong said PBK cannot, on the one hand, claim that it wants to replace DAP and become Sarawak’s mainstream opposition party, while on the other hand appearing to be increasingly close to SUPP.

“If a political party cannot even clearly articulate its basic political position and principles, how can it expect Sarawakians to believe that it can represent the people and provide checks and balances against the government in SLA?” he asked.

Chong stressed that PBK’s participation in the coming state election is something that can be expected, and that the emergence of a wider range of political parties actively participating in elections is, in itself, a positive development and a step forward for Sarawak’s democratic process.

However, he pointed out that having more political parties contesting elections alone is not enough. “What Sarawakians really want to know is: what exactly can a political party that has not even established a service centre do for the people of Sarawak?” he asked.

He said Sarawakians do not need political parties that only appear before elections and disappear after elections, nor do they need parties that merely know how to shout slogans.

“What Sarawakians need is a political party with firm positions, clear principles, genuine grassroots presence, and the commitment to continuously speak up for the people,” he said.

Voon, a former DAP SLM for Batu Lintang, had suggested recently that Sarawakians should now consider giving PBK an opportunity to take over the role of leading the opposition or even as the government to protect people first, not Malaya first and not Sarawak first 

“Sarawak First is about mega infrastructure and development benefitting the capitalists but not Food on the Table for the people which both GPS,  DAP and Malaya are able to help to the expectation of people

“The era of Malayan-style politics and Malayan-based political parties in Sarawak should come to an end,” he said, adding that Sarawakians want local political parties that understand Sarawak's own interests, aspirations and political realities. 

He called on Sarawakians to give local Sarawak parties a stronger mandate and allow themselves to determine the future political direction of the state.