Activist urges SUPP and PRS to form Sarawak-based opposition party

A gathering in Kuching on Jan 19, calling for the restoration of Sarawak’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963. (Facebook pic)

KUCHING: A political activist has urged Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) to reconsider their future in Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

Peter John Jaban, who heads Solidariti Anak Sarawak (SAS), said both parties should form a genuine Sarawak-based opposition party.

“In this way, they can both pursue a new land policy that will put an end to the suffering of the rural people struggling to reclaim their ancestral lands and fulfil their party promises of fighting for Sarawak rights,” he said in a statement today.

These two parties, one Chinese-based and one purely Dayak, have become very vocal on the subject of Sarawak rights and autonomy, despite decades of silence when Barisan Nasional was in power in the federal government, he said.

“If they are sincere about this goal, then they should challenge PBB, both on a platform of the restitution of our rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and on the preservation of Sarawak culture and Adat through a new land policy that will uphold native rights.

“Give the people of Sarawak a genuine choice that can put an end to the struggle for land rights and also uphold the fight for Sarawak rights within Malaysia,” he said.

This was in response to reports that Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), currently allied to GPS, is taking in former leaders from PRS, who are likely to challenge existing coalition members for seat allocation in the next state election.

“This debate about the admission of splinter groups from SUPP and PRS has been going on even before the last state election,” he said.

Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), he said, currently holds the vast majority of seats in the state government and so dominates over its coalition partners.

“PRS, at least, was represented through the appointment of James Masing as one of the deputy chief ministers but SUPP was overlooked once again.

“Now, they want to bring in these former members of both parties to potentially challenge them for seats?

“Why wait and stay in GPS when you are being fooled? Its about time to leave,” he said.

Jaban said SUPP and PRS have nothing to lose at this stage.

“With no more funding from Umno, they might as well stand together and follow their own political destiny.

“Sarawakian voters are caught between a rock and a hard place currently.

“On one side is a coalition that promises greater autonomy but has a terrible land rights record.

“On the other is the hope of restitution of land rights but silence on the autonomy issue,” he said, adding that they should give Sarawakian voters a real choice.

So far, he said GPS had continued to pursue a policy of land development put in place during Sarawak governor Taib Mahmud’s tenure as head of PBB.

This had seen the natives divested of their lands and plantation giants like Tabung Haji and Felda profiting from huge tracts of land in Sarawak which once belonged to the indigenous people, he added.

This has caused untold misery to the rural people of Sarawak and tarnished the state’s good name as well as the name of Sarawak oil palm internationally, he said.

Therefore, Jaban said a Sarawak-based coalition between PRS and SUPP can provide a good alternative to this appalling land policy while still maintaining an independent voice in the fight for restitution of rights under Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). - FMT