Masing to See: Apologise? You must be joking

8

KUCHING: There is no need for him to apologise over the ‘Jangan Lawan Tauke’ remark, said Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing.

He mentioned this in response to PKR Sarawak vice chairman See Chee How who insisted that Masing should say sorry for making the remark.

“Apologise for what? He must be joking,” was Masing’s short reply.

Yesterday, See told reporters during the Purple Assembly at Friendship Park here that he was disappointed with Masing after he (Masing) was quoted in the newspapers yesterday as stressing that the elected representatives and government are the bosses.

See claimed this showed Masing did not want to apologise for the ‘Jangan Lawan Tauke’ remark.

Masing, who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president reportedly uttered the ‘Jangan Lawan Tauke’ (Don’t Fight The Boss) remark earlier this month when defending the party’s Youth chief Datuk Mong Dagang.

Mong was accused by the opposition of taking away the welfare assistance and subsidies from a physically challenged farmer Frusis Lebi from Sri Aman.

It was claimed that Mong, who is also Assistant Agriculture Minister, had instructed a government agency to stop giving aid to Frusis because he had supported the opposition and even flew an opposition flag near his house in the last state election.

At the PRS Youth Seminar dinner on Saturday, Masing responded to the many comments made against the remark by saying there appeared to be some confusion on the basic principles of parliamentary democracy with some entering the fray as overnight experts on the issue.

“The confusion, it appears, is concerning the role of the legislature – which are the elected representatives or YBs. All YBs are elected by the people/ voters. During polling day, the rakyat (people) who have been registered as voters are the ‘boss’. The power is invested on rakyat, by the legislature, to elect who should be the Administrator/ Boss of their lives for the next five years.

“Once they have elected their YBs or the administrators, the role changes. The elected representatives become the administrators/ boss of the rakyat, while the rakyat plays a subservient role seeking assistance from the YBs from time to time,” he was reported to have said.