Peter (seated second left) and his team in a photo call at the press conference.
KUCHING: The political debate organised by S4S (Sarawak for Sarawakians) movement will proceed as planned on April 10 at the Kenyalang Park Theatre.
This was disclosed by activist Peter John Jaban at a press conference here yesterday.
He said as of yesterday, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak chairman Baru Bian, and a representative from Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) said they would participate in the debate, besides STAR and PBDS.
He further said the debate remains a chance for the ‘rakyat’ to air their own views and have them heard by the politicians as well as to hear what these two parties have to say.
Parties which chose not to attend the debate are sending a clear message, he added.
“Their focus is on winning an election and safeguarding Sarawak is a distant second.
“Therefore, S4S will be suggesting that its supporters vote accordingly – the election is only one day, the five years in between is what really counts and the last 53 years have given all the incumbents a very poor record,” he said.
He said Norway, the country widely considered to have the best functioning democracy in the world, conducts political debates during the campaign period, while in America, political debates are considered an integral part of the democratic process – even the presidential candidates do not consider them above it.
In the United Kingdom which has a population of over 60 million, petitions with over 100,000 signatures are usually brought up in Parliament, he pointed out.
“Our petition has 300,000 signatures. Any politician who feels he can afford to put at risk the votes of 10 per cent of Sarawakians, must be either extremely arrogant or very confident that the system will deliver the result his way whether he responds to the rakyat or not.
“Given the widespread manipulation of constituencies, both by numbers and along racial lines, it is no surprise that some of them are,” he said.
Therefore, S4S urges its supporters to move ahead with this pioneering event and to judge the candidates with the courage to attend on their actions.
“There can be no greater priority than the future of our state and all political hopefuls should remember this,” Peter added.
He said tickets are sold at RM10, RM30 and RM50, and further enquiries can be made by contacting KC Tan on 016-8861810.
He also said 100 tickets will be given free to Political Science university students interested to attend provided they show their student passes.
Meanwhile, the group is selling the tickets at the Kuching 101 coffee shop centre (next to Ambank) from last night until April 9, from 7.30pm to 10pm.
More information can be obtained by calling 010-9714838, 019-8570627 or 016-8861810, Peter said.