PADAWAN, Sept 13 2026: Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) is calling on all Dayak voters to not trade their political dignity for minor rural projects, saying that they should unite to build a strong, autonomous political force that commands respect at the negotiating table.
Its president John Brian Anthony said the party’s goal is not to divide the community, but to unite it under a strong, independent political voice that puts interests of the Dayak community first.
He said PBDS intends to contest at least 28 seats in the coming state election, focusing on constituencies where it has strong grassroots presence.
“We are offering voters a genuine alternative: a party that is unapologetically Dayak, not one that treats the community as a mere vote bank to maintain the status quo,” he said in a statement when responding to recent comments by Deputy Premier Douglas Uggah, who is also PBB deputy president.
“PBDS is drafting a comprehensive Dayak Unity Charter and championing the slogan “Nilai Dayak,
Maruah Dayak, Sarawak Bermaruah” (Dayak Values, Dayak Dignity, A Dignified Sarawak).
During a recent interview with the media, Uggah was reported to have expressed his confidence that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) would retain all the Dayak-majority seats in the coming state election based on development projects delivered over the past five years.
John Brian said PBDS respects Uggah’s confidence, “but we must strongly contest the narrative that physical development alone equates to meaningful political empowerment for the Dayak community.”
“For decades, Dayak-majority areas have been promised development in exchange for political loyalty. While infrastructure and basic amenities are the fundamental rights of every Sarawakian—not political favors—the Dayak community continues to lag behind in genuine political representation, economic equity, and decision-making power. We are tired of always playing second fiddle in our own homeland.
“The deputy premier’s own remarks illustrated the structural reality of Dayak politics today,”John Brian said, referring to Uggah’s admission that the names of the Dayak canidates to contest under GPS ticket were entirely up to Premier Abang Johari Openg to decide.
He said Uggah’s admission underscores a sobering truth that under the current GPS/PBB power structure, even a senior Dayak leader holding the second-highest executive office in the state lacks the autonomy to decide the political fate of his own community’s representatives.
“The power to determine the Dayak political landscape remains heavily centralized in the hands of a single party and its top leadership,” he added.
John Brian said the Dayak community must ask itself how could it claims to be equal partners in Sarawak “when we cannot even decide our own candidates without permission.”
“The time for being second fiddle is over. The time for Dayak political awakening is now,
John Brian suggested.
