The community leaders hold up banners to protest MPKKP.
MIRI: Over 100 community leaders here held a protest yesterday against the setting up of the Federal Village Community Management Council (MPKKP).
Spokesman Temenggong Datuk Abdul Rahman Fadzil said Miri community leaders support the present system of village security and development committees (JKKK) in Sarawak.
“Today, we the community leaders in Miri comprising the Malay, Chinese, Iban, Kedayan, and Jatti Meriek demonstrate and protest against MPKPP’s entry to Sarawak,“ he told the media.
According to Abdul Rahman, the present JKKK system is still relevant and well accepted by the people, where the government channels grants and facilities through them.
He claimed MPKKP will create disunity among the longhouse folk and villagers.
Pemanca Wilson Siang Lim stressed that the Iban community strongly opposed the entry of MPKKP to Sarawak.
“If the PH (Pakatan Harapan) government brings projects or so on, whatsoever, and if they are sincere, why not channel the grants to JKKK instead of putting another one (MPKKP) in the longhouses, which creates disunity and disharmony,” he claimed.
“Never trust them, PH, that the rural people in Sarawak will benefit from their rural development agenda that is just to confuse and please the people to support the setting up of MPKKP in Sarawak.”
Penghulu Leonard Fong stressed that the Chinese community feels a responsible government should look into uniting the people and not diving them.
“I think MPKKP means to split because of politics and I don’t think that is good for the people of Sarawak,” he said.
“We already have JKKK, Chinese kapitans, so they should look up to these kapitan. If the federal government comes in with another set of community leaders to look into this development and all this, no doubt it may look good to the people but in actual fact it’s destabilising the people.”
Penghulu Samat Alip strongly condemned the PH government’s propaganda through MPKKP.
“Don’t create another platform. MPKKP is merely to champion your own political struggle, which in the end, the people will suffer.”