KUCHING: Former Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) secretary-general Wilfred Gomez Malong believes the formation of PBDS Baru would be relevant to the people’s struggle and politics today.
When contacted by The Borneo Post yesterday, Gomez said it was important that Dayaks be united under a one-party banner because policy makers (government of the day) need to be familiar with the sensitivity and peculiarity of the community.
“Only the Dayaks understand their problem. To understand the needs of the natives here, one must be well versed and truly know the people’s plight. When we look at the present organisation of governance (Barisan Nasional coalition) today, political bodies which were regarded as Dayak-based parties could only be seen as a branch to this governance.
“Such leaders seem to only perform according to the guideline of the state BN chairman. They do not reflect an independent body of the Dayaks,” the former lawyer added.
Contradictory to the struggle of the old PBDS to uphold the rights of the Dayaks and all natives people in the state, these leaders, he alleged, did not even object nor support the deletion of the word ‘Dayak’ from the Interpretation Ordinance, preferring to ‘keep mum’ on the matter.
Interpreting this as a design to divide the Dayak community into small entities, making them easier to control, Gomez went on to explain that some of the leaders from the Dayak-based parties within the BN coalition even openly supported this move.
“How can they say that they represent the Dayaks?” he questioned.
“Same thing goes to the present parameter surveying of native customary rights (NCR) land. The survey is a good idea but we must remember that the government does not recognise certain interpretation of certain areas of NCR land.
“Hence forth, when the survey is conducted, it would naturally cover the area that the government recognises. Once the survey is completed, all land not recognised as NCR land would be given back to the government,” claimed Gomez.
On the delay in the decision for the registration of PBDS Baru since March last year, he pointed out that PBDS Baru was conceptualised to be a reborn organisation.
Meanwhile, a former PBDS Youth exco member who wished anonymity, saw the delay in decision as double standard in approving a political organisation.
When met by The Borneo Post in Kota Samarahan near here yesterday, he questioned why a certain party could be registered and approved by the ROS almost immediately, while new parties bearing the word ‘Dayak’ seemed to be difficult to register.
He was referring to the application of Malaysian Dayak Congress (MDC) which saw its application rejected.
Touching on the 2004 incident when PBDS was deregistered for ‘insubordination’, he said: “Was there really any valid reason at all to deregister PBDS?
“Considering that a more serious internal conflict has happened in other political parties here which strangely, no action was taken by the authorities.”
In addition, if PBDS Baru were to eventually see the light of day, he suggested that the party must seriously consider having young blood, preferably aggressive professionals from both the native as well as non-native communities to lead.
“Maybe individuals with calibre like former PBDS member and Pelagus assemblyman Larry Sng. His experience could be drafted into the organisation to help kick-start their activities. Furthermore Larry has been highly regarded repeatedly by the top leadership in the BN’s fold.”
He said Dayaks were not yet ready for a two-party system due to their lagging behind in almost every aspect (education, economy, politics and other fields), which would render them becoming a burden to the system.