Abang Johari is greeted by PBB members as he arrives at the function. At left is Uggah.
KUCHING: The late Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) president and fifth chief minister Pehin Sri Adenan Satem must be a happy man, now that two of his major wishes have been granted for the people of Sarawak.
They are the Land Code (Amendment) Bill 2018, and Oil Mining (Amendment) Bill 2018 which were passed at the State Legislative Assembly recently.
Party president and Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said these were two important things the late ‘Tok Nan’ had wanted him and his deputy Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah to do before he died.
“It’s very sad but we have achieved what he (Adenan) wanted us to do. It has lifted a heavy load off our backs. It is a start, and more will come for the people and PBB.
“Senior party members will continue to fight for the rights of Sarawakians which was started by Tok Nan.
“ It is not an easy task, but we have been successful in passing the Land Code (Amendment) Bill 2018, and Oil Mining (Amendment) Bill 2018.
“PBB must therefore continue to move forward to greater height with the new coalition despite facing a slight setback after the last general election.”
Abang Johari added he was very optimistic that PBB would still be the party of choice for the people even though its members were now facing a new political landscape in the country
“We have just experienced a new wave of change in politics, especially in Peninsular Malaysia, but let us not allow that to hinder our progress. We must be thankful that we won 13 out of the 14 seats contested in the 14GE. PBB is a party that is still very well received by the people of Sarawak. There is still much hope in our party,” he said at the Gawai-Raya 2018 dinner organised by the party at Hilton Hotel Kuching here on Friday.
He added: “Unfortunately, this is not so with other political parties in the rest of the country. They faced the worst political defeats, and with it, a new political landscape in Malaysia.
“The decline in the number of seats and the loss of PBB in Puncak Borneo is a reminder that coalition parties in Sarawak must field good candidates in future elections.”
He thus wanted PBB members to reflect on this and do something to put things right.
“We must identify our weaknesses and do something about it so that we can fight for what are rightfully ours.
“We must also take care of unity within the party and foster even closer ties with the people so that together we will be able to move forward.”
He said he had faced many political crisis before but if the party’s intention was good they would be able to forge ahead.
“PBB is at the moment okay. Our party is the pillar of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and if the ship is going according to its compass we will be able to make it to port,” he said.
Datin Amar Datuk Juma’ani Tuanku Bujang, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin, Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family, and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Integrity and Ombudsman) Datuk Talip Zulpililp, Assistant Minister of Coastal Road Datuk Julaihi Narawi, Assistant Minister of E-Commerce Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais, and Tg Datu assemblywoman Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu were among those present at the function.