KUCHING: PRS president Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing was right to give a friendly reminder to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Umno that the Dayak vote-bank must not be ignored.
PRS information chief Alexander Donald and Youth publicity chief Bit Surang said they supported a recent statement by Masing on this matter because of the general feeling that the Dayaks had contributed much to ensure Barisan Nasional (BN) remained in power.
“Tan Sri James Masing is correct in voicing out his concerns over the issue of marginalisation of the Dayak community or Dayak-based political party,” said Alexander.
“As such, the call for him to quit BN is absurd and only uttered by those that wished the Dayak community ill.”
Alexander stressed that true Dayak leaders must fight
for what is right and just and not merely becoming ‘cosmetic’ politicians.
As for Masing, he said the PRS president should be saluted for continuing to speak without fear or favour.
“Being critical from within is constructive and should make BN stronger.
“Tan Sri James Masing has been in the opposition at the state level before and knows the boundaries of what is right and wrong in politics.
“We strongly support his stance and urge all like-minded Dayaks to do the same. The interest of the community must come before self or any individual.”
Meanwhile, Bit called on the Dayak community to rally behind Masing in fighting for their rights.
“I have a question for those who questioned Tan Sri’s sincerity in fighting for Dayaks. Tan Sri has been outside the system for eight years. Where were you during those days?
“Now, he is trying his best to rectify the system from within. As such, we must give our strong support for his courage and determination to rectify all those weaknesses,” stressed Bit.
Masing was recently quoted in a few Internet news portals as lashing out at Najib for the latter’s near obsession with winning back Chinese votes but neglecting the Dayak votes, which has kept the BN in power.
Referring to Najib’s interview with a newspaper, where he spoke about the need to find a win-win solution to win back Chinese support, Masing felt that Najib should show more respect to the Dayaks, who had continued to vote BN.
Masing’s statement was believed to have ruffled some feathers within Umno and BN, who were not happy over such criticisms against Najib.