KUCHING: The United People’s Party (UPP) has appealed to leaders of Barisan Nasional (BN) not to give up on getting Chinese votes, but implement mechanisms that can recoup their support.
This call came from one of the seven resolutions adopted during the party’s inaugural triennial delegates conference (TDC) held at KTS Garden here yesterday.
“The Chinese account for a quarter of the population. Even though recent election results show BN can still hold on to power despite a loss of support from the Chinese community, racial polarisation in politics is an unhealthy phenomenon.
“And the stability of the country will be adversely affected unless the Chinese can be brought back into mainstream politics as an integral part of the government.”
The party pointed out that another resolution would be to set up a committee to follow up and work on issues relating to Chinese education.
Describing Chinese education issues as “very complex and time-consuming”, UPP said the special committee would be expected to look for practical solutions to the problems faced by Chinese schools.
“This special committee will act as a bridge between the related organisations and UPP.”
The party, said a resolution, would launch ‘Our Sarawak Dialogue’ soon besides setting up a preparatory group.
“UPP’s birth must have a meaningful impact on the people of Sarawak. We must aim to guide people, especially the Chinese community, to reconnect with mainstream politics.
“We will go to the grassroots and through public consultation exercises, we will gather opinion and support with a view towards achieving a sense of belonging and shared values for all our people.”
To survive this information age, one of the resolutions pressed for comprehensive research and development strategy
for information and cyber technology to counter online public opinions that went against the party.
With the Internet being integrated into all aspects of social life, UPP felt it had to come up with practical solutions to tackle negative opinions.
The party also called on Putrajaya to set up an advisory committee comprising representatives of all races and religion to look into the rise of religious and ethnic tension issues as well as propose solutions.
It reasoned the government must stop rising extremism in Peninsular Malaysia before it ran out of control.
One of the remaining two resolutions is said to firmly
support Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s resolve to prevent the entry of any form of racist and extreme elements into the state, while the other urged the federal government to provide detailed explanation on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be fully implemented by April 1.
“Although implementation is imminent, a lot of people lack the knowledge of this new tax system, and are worried that GST will lead to price hikes, sluggish consumer spending and a general downturn in the economy.
“Since GST has been proven in many countries as an effective form of taxation, the government should publicise the positive impact of GST so people can see the benefit of the new system. This will address negative perception of GST.”