Say sorry, Lagong tells James Masing

Kuching, April 15, 2012: An Independent State Assemblyman for Pelagus, George Lagong, has asked Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Masing to  repent and make amends of the wrong he has made regarding the people-wakil rakyat relationship.

"I know that "sorry" is a difficult thing to say,  but as a leader, he must be mindful of the need to act humbly," he said at a public forum on "who is the boss?" here today.

Lagong said an elected assemblyman is a servant-leader.

"He does not walk alone. He must walk with the people, like what Prophet Moses did...when he walked with the Israeli people and led them out of slavery through the desert to the promised land," he said.

He said "Jangan Lawan Towkay" uttered by Masing is an arrogant statement that must certainly come from an equally arrogant man.

'Whether it is in politics or business, such a condenscending and bully attitude has no place, unless, of course, you are alone in your own world and choose to run your own affairs without the help of others," Lagong said.

He asked what does it mean in a democracy when elected representative decides to turn his back on the people and behaves in a manner that shows little regard to them?

"Simply put, it is as if he has hijacked power from the people who have elected him and chooses to exercise that power uniliterally without respecting the views and wishes of the people," he said.

He said in addressing the "Jangan Lawan Towkay" issue, the people must go back to the basics of democracy and the process of elected representation to establish their supremacy and power before they get confused.

Lagong said the first rule of democracy is that the people are the bosses and this is central to the very philosophy and the principle of democractic governance.

"Although democracy through the democratic electoral process, which provides for certain preferred candidates from among many to be voted in to positions of power, the principle of people-as-boss should always retain its authority and primacy over governance.

"Having power for the people indicates that the people have an actual say in what the government is doing, and that the government, being of the people, by the people, for the people, responds to the wishes - and hopefully educated wishes  - of the populace," Lagong said.

Unfortunately, he said, many elected representatives who claim to understand democracy either fail to understand or deliberately ignore this very sacred tenet of democratic governance.

Lagong rebuked Masing for saying that the Malaysian people were the boss for a day - on polling day - while the elected officials, who derive the power from the people, be the boss for five years.

'That makes the people-as-boss principle of democracy rather shaky, even farcical," he said, adding that this principle is scantily understood by the people, especially those from the lower income group and those with poor knowledge and understanding of politics and governnance, and often abused by some elected representatives.

Lagong said the recent simple cursory remark - Jangan Lawan Towkay -  made by Masing points to one sad phenomenon that the power of the people is being encroached and eroded by the very same people who is elected to protect and safeguard their interest.

"Time for us to wake up the rakyat, especially those in the rural areas, to their democratic consciousness and let them know their rights and civil liberties as provided for under the Malaysian Constitution and the United Nations Charter on Human Rights," Lagong said.

"If they remain passive and ignorant, they will continue to be bullied by some irresponsible elected representatives. But if the people put their act together and reaffirm their supremacy of power, the bully and arrogance of some elected representatives will soon stop," he said. By Sematong Express.