KUCHING: The suggestion made by former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to bring back the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) to curb growing dissent among “extremist” minority groups, especially those advocating the use of the Arabic word ‘Allah’ to refer to God, does not go down well with the Dayak community.
In pointing this out, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) supreme council member Dr Richard Wil Uban said that if the statement was meant for or to include the Dayak community in Sarawak, then this is a sad chapter in the history of the country.
This, he said, was because almost every strata of society in Sarawak has expressed their disagreement over the issue.
“This kind of statement is very much uncalled for especially from a statesman who should be enjoying his retirement rather than picking up issues and belittling the minority groups.
“Despite being called the minority, no one should deny the fact that it is Sarawak and Sabah that have contributed much to what Malaysia is now and that includes putting up the great Putrajaya of which Tun Dr Mahathir is very much proud of.
“For this, we are very much indebted to him and therefore every well-meaning Dayak or Sarawakian wishes him to retire well instead of getting Sarawakians to lose their fond memory of him,” Wil told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
He stressed that all Malaysians must be reminded that Malaysia was not formed through an existence of a single state nor race or religion but by a convention and through the consensus of the autonomous states of Sarawak and Sabah and never was it meant for any single dominant race or religion to impose their will or lord it over the others.
He added that while Islam has been agreed upon as an official religion of the country, it did not mean that its followers were above the constitution.
“For instance, the action of the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) which was widely condemned by many quarters in Sarawak and Sabah could set a bad precedent, a step towards a formation of a rogue state if we allow a certain institution to operate in a ‘Gestapo’-like manner and making themselves untouchable and thinking that they are above the law,” said Wil.
He pointed out that it was rather unfortunate that certain quarters in Umno has lost their good judgment and forgotten the gesture of the minority group in Sarawak in Sabah whom they have taken as their ‘fixed deposit’.
“If this is politically motivated and they are desperate to win back the Malay votes, then they have chosen to do it at the expense of their fixed deposit partners. This unwise and ungrateful move is definitely not welcomed to both the minority in Sarawak and Sabah and on top of that being labelled as “extremists”.
Wil said by choosing to capitalise on sensitive issues such as race and religion, it not only showed that they were insincere to Sarawak and Sabah but also to the others whom they politically coerced to be partners just for the benefit of certain quarters with ulterior motives whose interest were only to remain in power.
“So while this situation is still curable, let us put our effort together as in the days of our founding father(s) and come to our sense in moving towards a truly 1Malaysia,” added Wil.