Dato Idris Buang
KUCHING: A Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leader has proposed that the Sarawak Constitution be amended to ensure that only “loyal Sarawakians” can contest in state elections.
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) information chief Dato Idris Buang said in particular that Article 16 of the legislation should be amended to clearly define the word ‘resident’ and as such, their eligibility to contest.
Urging the state government to propose the amendment in the next State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting, he said Article 16 was now obsolete and irrelevant to the current political trend in Sarawak.
“Such a move to make an amendment to the State Constitution to disallow any non-Sarawakian to stand in the State election, does not mean we are scared of any ‘outsiders’. That issue should not arise at all, because we still have our autonomy on immigration.
“What matters is that we need to jealously protect Sarawak from the ‘virus’ of nasty political culture and distasteful politickings as could be seen to affect all the Malaya-based parties in the peninsular,” the Muara Tuang assemblyman said in a statement.
Article 16 states: “Every citizen of or over the age of twenty-one years who is resident in the State is qualified to be elected as an elected member of the Dewan Undangan Negeri, unless he is disqualified for being such a member by the Federal Constitution or this Constitution or by any such law as is mentioned in Article 17.”
Article 17 gives DUN the power to disqualify people from being its member.
Idris, who is a lawyer, said the current interpretation of ‘resident’ in Article 16 was quite loose as it could mean a person staying in the state for a short period of a few months when instead, he felt it should be a person who has a “substantial Sarawak connection.”
While agreeing that the duration of time which amounts to a substantial connection to Sarawak was open to debate, he said: “But, my take is, inter alia, he or she must have been continuously residing in the State for at least 10 years prior to his nomination for any State election in Sarawak.”
Idris said an amendment to Article 16 has become pertinent after the Federal Court decision last Tuesday in favour of a motion in DUN to disqualify Democratic Action Party’s Dr Ting Tiong Choon as Pujut assemblyman due to his dual citizenship although he had renounced it before the 2016 state polls.
Commenting on the reactions to the court decision, Idris said: “The general feeling is that Sarawak needs to be represented in the DUN as well as in the national Parliament by only loyal and true blue Sarawakians in every sense of the word.”
He also said he agreed with DUN Speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nasar’s remark about ‘loyalty and patriotism to the State’, adding: “Sarawak only needs its truly loyal and ‘fiercely’ patriotic citizens to fill such position as DUN members or members of Parliament representing Sarawak.”
Reiterating that Sarawak cannot allow the political culture of the parties in the Peninsular to spread in Sarawak, he claimed that they have been trying to arouse instability by using racial tones and sentiments, including on social media.
“It is therefore high time for the majority of Sarawakians to stamp our foot down against such egregious efforts of unscrupulous politicians who have been influenced and have the support from across the South China Sea. We cannot afford any kind of racial stirs or political instability in this State,” said Idris.