KUCHING, Nov 8, 2014: Thomas Tegong Laka, a retired head of
the Iban service of RTM, has been nominated by the Sarawak DAP as a candidate
to be a senator from Sarawak.
The election of the senator by the Sarawak State Legislative
Assembly is on Tuesday, Nov 13, in the event that two candidates are being
nominated.
Sarawak DAP chairman and Kota Sentosa State Assemblyman
Chong Chieng Jen, speaking at a media conference during which he introduced
Tegong to the media, said he will propose Tegong to be elected as a senator.
He said he has submitted Tegong's name to the State
Legislative Assembly's secretary yesterday.
As of yesterday afternoon, the Barisan Nasional has yet to
make known its candidate for the senatorship.
Chong hoped that voting to elect the new senator would be
through secret ballots.
"I also urge the BN whip to allow the BN state law
makers to vote according to their conscience, not along party line," he
said.
Chong, who is also the Bandar Kuching Member of Parliament,
said the time has come to vote someone who dares to speak up in the senate.
He said Tegong, 60, is a good candidate to be the senator as
" I have heard a lot about him."
"If the BN wants to hijack him from the DAP, by all
means. We will give our full support," he said.
"In the past, the senatorship has been used by the BN
to appease those unhappy BN candidates rejected by the people or dropped by
their party, or even worse, for the wife of a minister.
"It is time that we have someone who is close to the
ground, who understands the plights of the people and dares to speak up for
Sarawakians, to be appointed or elected as a senator," he said.
Under the Federal Constitution, two senators from Sarawak
are to be elected by members of the Sarawak State Assembly.
Dayang Madinah Abang Openg was elected as a senator during
the July 11, 2010 sitting of the Sarawak State Assembly while Lihat Jok was
elected as a senator on Nov 15, 2011.
Tegong, who retired on July 7, 2014 from the government
service, is neither a member of the Sarawak DAP nor a member of any political
party in the state.
Nevertheless, the Sarawak DAP has nominated him to be the
senator on grounds of his strong views
on issues affecting the people of Sarawak, especially the Dayak community, when
he was still in the government service.
Kidurong state law maker Chiew Chiu Sing strongly
recommended to the Sarawak DAP for Tegong to be nominated as a senator.
During his 41 years of service with RTM, Tegong has served
in Sri Aman, Sibu, Miri, Limbang and Kuching.
Among his listeners-favourite programmes are Pengingat Tuai,
Nemu Kita and Ulih Begiga.
Chong said of Tegong:"As a commentator in his Iban
radio programme, Thomas has spoken up on issues that touched the hearts of the
Dayak population.
"They love to listen to his commentaries in radio.
"The name Thomas Tegong Laka has become a household
name among the Dayak population," Chong said.
Picture: Thomas Tegong Laka - his programmes are favourites among the listeners of the Iban Service of RTM
Tegong told reporters:"I hope the BN state law makers
will vote me in the election for the senatorship. I am sure many will support
me if voting is done through secret ballots as I know them personally and I
know some of the ministers as well as I have been drinking and eating with them
in coffeeshops before."
He said he will speak up on issues affecting the people of
Sarawak, especially the Dayak community.
"As far as I know, I have not heard of any senator from
Sarawak who had spoken up on issues
affecting the people of the state," he
said.
No comments:
Post a Comment