PRS (6MPs) threat of leaving BN intensifies, calls for Taib to leave

First, he called Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) and Umno ‘bullies’.

Now Parti Rakyat Sarawak’s (PRS) former publicity head of its Balleh division Beginda Minda has boldly called on PBB president Abdul Taib Mahmud to step down as Sarawak chief minister.

Revealing bundles of flawed strategies in the Taib administration on Mkini.tv’s 'Uncensored' talk show, Beginda also held long-serving Iban Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu equally responsible for the agony and sufferings of the Dayak community, adding that “Jabu should also seriously consider retirement as soon as possible".

"Taib’s era has passed. It is time for him to give way to the younger generation to take over the reins of power in Sarawak. Twenty seven years as chief minister is long enough," Beginda told 'Uncensored' host Francis Paul Siah.

Beginda insisted that he was not launching a personal attack at these two Sarawak leaders but that he has decided to come out publicly to “say what has to be said” as he (Beginda) is also a member of a BN component party.

“My request is for Taib and Jabu to step down gracefully and retire as honourable and respected statesmen. Surely, it is better to go that way than to be forced out of office through people’s power,” he reasoned.

"It is clear to most people that the days when they (Taib and Jabu) have been most effective and most active are nearly gone. There are now many capable and qualified younger people with fresh ideas and bolder visions to lead the state.

"Taib has been active in politics since the first days of independence in 1963 and has been chief minister of Sarawak since 1981. Alfred Jabu has been in active politics since 1974 and was made deputy chief minister shortly after.

"Admittedly, these two gentlemen have done much for Sarawak. There have been pluses, I grant that, but there are many negatives as well," he said.

Row, row, row your boat to Kapit

Beginda touched on several issues close to the hearts of Sarawak Dayaks during the interview. He spoke at length on the land issue, uneven development in the state, lack of employment opportunities and the ‘sufferings’ of his Iban community.

“It is a fact that after 45 long years of independence, many areas in Sarawak are still not being developed, including my hometown of Kapit.

"Kapit is still the same as it has been during the colonial time of the British. During the time of Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke, we were rowing sampans as there were no roads to get out of Kapit.

“Today, there are still no roads linking Kapit to other towns and we still have to use boats ... only that this time, the boats have engines.

"I know that the two gentlemen (Taib and Jabu) will not be able to tolerate my public expression of these grouses. But the truth must be told. Enough is enough … my advice to them is not to wait until people demonstrate in the streets," he said.

Beginda also reiterated that PBB has an ‘apparent policy’ of undermining their coalition partners in "varying degrees of subtlety".

"The BN partners - Sarawak United People's Party (Supp), PRS or Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) - are in themselves complete organisations and their interests need to be respected. Interference by a senior partner, no matter the guise, is a form of bullying.

"Bullying goes against the grain of good and just participation in political affairs and dilutes the effectiveness of coalition partners when in fact they (the partners) should be effective and are seen as effective.

"Inevitably a coalition partner which is denied an effective delivery system will be held in ever diminishing esteem by the electorate," said Beginda.

Beginda was removed as publicity chief of the PRS Balleh division on Oct 27 following his ‘bully’ statement published in Malaysiakini two days earlier. He maintained he has no regrets over what he said.

Asked whether Taib could be behind the disbandment of Dayak-based parties, Beginda said: "It is very clear."

"One of the impacts of political interference has been to wreck the political cohesiveness of the Dayak people.

"Every decade, it seems that the Dayaks have to create a new party and as long as the party is young and new, it will be a junior partner. This is what PBB wants," said Beginda.

“If you look at the history of Snap, PBDS, SPDP and PRS, you will know what I am talking about,” he added.

Allow Dayaks to own their land

Beginda also rebuked Sarawak's land policies which have not been reviewed since the 1960s although Taib has been in power for 27 years.

"There have been many disputes over land ownership and the exploitation of resources, such as timber, which have pitted timber companies against natives who have traditionally regarded tracts of land to be theirs," he lamented.

"In Sarawak million of acres of NCR land are affected and the economic opportunity for the Dayaks from their lands are lost. The natives need the ownership of their lands to be put in order through proper surveying," said Beginda.

He urged the state government to adhere to growing public dissatisfaction regarding land policy and ensure commitment to review current land policies.

"The uproar last month in Bekenu Sibuti, where the Kedayan people were under threat of an eviction order apparently made to make way for plantation development, need not have happened if a proper land policy that protects native lands and if a proper land adjudication had been put in place.

"This is no longer just an abuse of power but oppression of the people. If this goes on, the natives will lose everything," he said.

On the matter of Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) which maintains land development and social-economic wealth of the state, Beginda said: "Salcra could do a much better job but it is not doing that".

"There are grumblings that participants do not get the so called 'dividends' that they feel they are entitled to or that their lands have been bought over by those with vested interests.

"Yet it is possible for Salcra to do very well and earn the participants plenty of rewards had legislations and measures been introduced which prevent estate lands from being sold and transferred to other parties.

"For instance, Felda, the federal government's land development agency, is so well run that it is now prepared to spread its operation overseas. Why can't Salcra be as successful as Felda?" he asked.

No job opportunities in Sarawak

Beginda also raised grouses relating to employment opportunities in the state, where although Sarawak is rich in resources, large number of the natives still flee to Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore in search of employment.

"We have plenty of timber, coal, oil and gas. These are ingredients for a strong economy. We should be an employment haven ... yet now in Sarawak we have problems regarding the economy and employment.

"In Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, there are as many as 60000 Sarawakians. In Johor alone, more than 16,000 Sarawakians are employed there.

"Ask them why they prefer to work in Peninsular Malaysia and most will reply that there are better job opportunities there.

"Why can't Sarawak create jobs for its own people?"

"Surely, it is now time for a change of leadership," he added.

Towards the end of the show, Beginda spoke in Iban as he made an impassioned appeal to his community to stay focussed and united as they demand for their rights in Sarawak - Malaysiakini.com

Taib's arrogance-ness has no boundary.

Taib's arrogance-ness has no boundary. His 27 years in power as Chief Minister has gone over his head and acting more like a dictator. He's absolute authority or inquestionable truth in every aspect of political matters that other should not raise any issues within his administration. He is the authority beyond question. Taib is always someone who takes advantage of another individual /party that he or she perceives as more vulnerable. The goal is to gain control over the victim or to gain control over a social group, in this matter party members. Is this not an impulsive bullying?

Prevalence

Bullying has existed as long as there has been Taib's existence in Sarawak political scene. However, recently our society has become more aware of bullying and its harmful consequences. Hence, some brave members dare to speak due to their inherent awareness of their silent has led to greater marginalization.

Taib surround himself with friends in the like of Jabu who condone and promote aggressive behavior. He does not develop a mature sense of justice. He intimidates others to cover up his own insecurities.

The bystander who observes the interaction may become frightened to express himself openly. He may eventually adopt the behaviors or either the bully or the victim.

Those bullies lacks empathy for others. Has low degree of anxiety about consequences. Narcissistic need to feel omnipotent. May appear to have a high self esteem but it is actually a brittle narcissism.

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Don't Blow Up Bullying Issue - Taib

KUCHING, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has called on all parties not to prolong and blow up the issue of bullying raised by members of smaller components of the coalition.

He said the allegation that bigger component parties were bullying the rest was "a small matter".

"You don't need to ask me questions like this," he told reporters at his office in Wisma Bapa Malaysia here today.

He was asked to comment on a Malaysiakini report on Saturday which quoted Parti Rakyat Sarawak member Beginda Minda of the Balleh division as saying that Umno at the federal level and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) in Sarawak were too dominant and bullying smaller BN components.

Taib who is Sarawak Chief Minister, is also PBB president.

Former MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting was also reported to have said during the party's 55th general assembly recently that Umno seemed far more dominant compared to the other components and wanted the BN leadership to correct the situation. -- BERNAMA

Dayak community must initiate the change

Commentary on "More cases of ‘bullying’ by PBB" as reported by Malaysiakini.


DIN MERICAN

People must initiate the change, not those politicians who are in Taib’s clutches.You can’t expect, for example, Alfred Jabu and Leo Moggie to do it. They have stakes in ensuring that Taib and family remain in power.

Maybe the Dayak community should start the ball rolling without Alfred and Leo, by honouring Stephen Kalong Ningkan, Jugah and other warriors of Dayak nationalism who supported Sarawak’s entry into Malaysia in the hope of a better future for their community. Stand up and fight for your sacred and fundamental rights.

How can the Dayaks allow the minority Melanau Malays to dominate their native land and deny them their rights. My Dayak brothers and sisters have— and must be given— a major role to play in Sarawak and Malaysian affairs. Please show Taib and the Barisan Nasional that the Dayaks are a great and proud people who believe in freedom, democracy and justice for all.

As a keen supporter of PKR and PR, I welcome my Dayak brothers and sisters into our fold. You have waited too long and now it is the time to make the change. So my friend Salak and Deepo, do your thing, guys.— Din Merican

PBB is indeed a big time 'bully'

Reading from what Simanggang division publicity chief Nanta Chaku statement to Malaysiakini, it was crystal clear that Taib and Jabu poke their noses in every nooks and corners in the Sarawak BN component parties. As for Jabu he is the worst betrayal of the Dayak people's trust, especially the Iban. I am glad that there are brave Iban in PRS who are willing to risk their political career to stand up for the truth. Those are true politicians with principles.

More cases of 'bullying' by PBB
Tony Thien | October 28, 2008

The Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) is abuzz like a hornet’s nest that has been disturbed, following an accusation that Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) has been ‘bullying’ component parties.

MCPX

Another Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) division leader has come out in support of the claim - Simanggang division publicity chief Nanta Chaku cited three examples in a statement to Malaysiakini.

On Saturday, the party’s Baleh division publicity head Beginda Minda had revealed two instances of alleged bullying by PBB, led by Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud (right), as well as by Umno.

Nanta said: “To support Beginda Minda’s contention… three other examples come to mind immediately:

1. Since 1981 other component parties in the Sarawak BN have been required to send two to three names of candidates for each constituency held by them, for the PBB leadership to pick the ones to contest. In other words, the final selection is subject to PBB’s decision.

2. A certain high-ranking Iban personage in PBB who fancies himself as the paramount chief of the (community) always insists on appointing his favourites as Penghulus, Pemancha and Temenggong (even) where PBB does not have elected (representatives).

3. In the contest for top posts in component parties, the election is dependent on close (connections between) the candidates (and) the PBB leadership. In other words, candidates perceived to be supported by the PBB leadership always seems to win. Social and economic issues doesn’t seem to matter, but closeness to the PBB leadership does.”Nanta also said ‘big boys’ in Sarawak BN deny ‘small boys’ any say in the final selection of candidates, whether for a general election, appointment of community chiefs or party leaders.

Since this is subject to final approval by PBB leaders, it makes a mockery of the original concept of the BN power-sharing concept in Sarawak, he said.

“It is perhaps more accurate to say that PBB is not only all too dominant but also domineering in attitude vis-a-vis smaller component parties.”

‘Explore other options’

Nanta urged members of other component parties to examine their options.

In the two examples cited by Beginda, reference was made to selection of candidates for the Sri Aman and Lubok Antu parliamentary seats, held by PRS in the March general election, and to a particular candidate selected for the 2006 state election.

Beginda had reminded the BN top leadership that the coalition must wake up to current political realities and stop being in a state of denial.

“Before, there was only BN which could provide the national leadership. After March 2008, it is clear that PRS has other, perhaps better, options,” he ended with a veiled warning, without elaborating what these options might be.In an immediate reaction to this, Masing - the state assemblyperson for Baleh - distanced the party from the claim, describing it as Beginda’s personal stance.

Masing said he could not stop members from expressing their views but felt that they should not go overboard in their criticism. He also said he would initiate an investigation.

Beginda is one of Masing’s right-hand men and his comments have irked Taib, who is the state BN chairperson.

It is learnt that Taib has told Masing to take disciplinary action against Beginda.

Rumours are circulating that the latter may already have been sacked, but this could not be immediately verified.

Source: www.malaysiakini.com

Umno and PBB is a bully, says Balleh PRS Publicity Chief

Oct 25, 08 9:09am

A Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) division leader Balleh PRS publicity chief Beginda Minda has described Umno at the federal level and Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) in Sarawak as ‘too dominant’ and indeed are ‘bullies’ in their dealings with smaller component parties in the Barisan Nasional.

Umno and PBB should stop thinking ‘dominance’ and start thinking of allowing other BN parties to run their own shows. If not, PRS has other options, he warns.

It is not too late for PRS to take the right course of action and now is the most opportune time it leadership should make the move - 'just do it', otherwise PRS will become irrelevant in the next state election. People are tired of Taib's so-called 'Politics of Development' but in political reality it is infact a modernised concept of politics of 'divide and rule', to sustain his grip on power in perpetuity and eventually to pave the way for his son (family) to take over the reign of power - thus a dynasty is created.

Taib Mahmud is indeed a big bully, not only to the component parties in the Sarawak BN but also within his party. It is a well known secret that those who are not in agreement with his authoritarian style of leadership and a threat to him in PBB will be destroyed politically for good; eg. Abang Mustapha and other Malay leaders in PBB. But those who are good 'apple polisher' like Alfred Jabu and other Dayaks leader are reward handsomely at the expense of the Dayak community who are largely living in rural area, where the bulk of BN strongest supporters are.

For 27 years BN rule Sarawak under Taib's leadership, the rural Sarawak population are at their worst both economically and deprivation of meaningful development. They are being systematically evicted from their ancestral land. What you see in rural Sarawak are NCR land being confiscated without proper compensation to the land owner and given to plantation developer which largely benefits Taib's family, relatives and cronies. Jungle are being plundered for the timbers and other natural resources which enrich Taib's family and cronies. And this what Taib called a second wave of 'Politics of Development', mega projects such as hydroelectric water dam, largest aluminium smelting in collaboration with Global Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto in Similajau to mention a few, of which all these mega-projects are for the benefits of Taib's family through their company Cahaya Mata Sarawak (CMS) in which his family members - (wife, siblings, children) has substantial shares holding.

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PRS: Umno is a bully, so is PBB
Malaysiakini, October 25, 2008

A Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) division leader has described Umno at the federal level and Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) in Sarawak as ‘too dominant’ and indeed are ‘bullies’ in their dealings with smaller component parties in the Barisan Nasional.

MCPX

Taking a cue from the statement of former MCA president Ong Ka Ting who has expressed similar sentiments, Balleh PRS publicity chief Beginda Minda said this tendency of one party dominance has an adverse impact on public perception and intra-BN relationships.

“It is my view that in Sarawak, PRS, a component party inside the state and federal Barisan Nasional has been bullied by what could collectively be called the ‘BN leadership’,” he said in a statement to Malaysiakini today

Elaborating, Beginda explained that in the case of Sarawak, the BN system has generated a state-level entity where there has been one dominant party - the PBB which is leading the state BN government.

Very powerful Taib Mahmud

PBB president Abdul Taib Mahmud (left in photo) is also state BN chair and chief minister of Sarawak for the past 27 years.

He has long been described as Sarawak’s most powerful personality and is known to be intolerant of dissent within the party’s ranks.

“Just as there is a public perception of Umno being too dominant at the national level, there is also a similar perception that in Sarawak, the dominant role of PBB has had an effect on the conduct of smaller parties, such as PRS,” Beginda said.

Prime Minister and national BN chair Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has responded immediately to Ong’s remarks on Oct 18, denying that Umno has bullied others in the BN. Umno information chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib has also asked for evidence of Umno bullying.

Responding to Muhammad Taib’s request, Beginda cited two recent instances of Umno and PBB bullying PRS.

The first was during the 2006 state election when a component BN party was ‘allowed’ to steal a PRS seat

“Neither the state nor federal BN intervened effectively to stop a component party from interfering in the affairs of another. Where was BN when effective action was needed?

“It was as if the BN was shutting its proverbial ‘eye’ to the intra-BN infighting in Sarawak. By letting the problem fester, it was acting as a bully, not a problem solver,” Beginda pointed out.

The second incident was during the March general election when two of the party’s candidates were rejected without any reason.

Beginda queried why was PBB allowed to choose its candidates to contest on PRS seats.

“Where is the principle that component parties ought to be free to conduct their own affairs and make the selection of candidates themselves? Is this not a case of dominance and bullying?” he asked.

“As a result, PRS was caught in a dilemma. The choices were two: PRS could have rejected the suggested replacements or it could have accepted them.

“A refusal to accept the replacement candidates could have left the party open to accusations of being disloyal to BN, a grave enough political sin. Such a move would have put PRS leadership in hot soup and perhaps alienate the party from BN.

“The impact on PRS was that it was a tremendous ‘let down’. To paraphrase Dato Seri Ong, the perception was that a partner in Sarawak BN - the PBB - was being ‘too dominant’.”

Despite these internal BN problems, Sarawak managed to deliver all but one of its 31 parliamentary seats to the BN. The ruling coalition only lost Bandar Kuching to DAP.

PRS is led by Dr James Masing (right) who is the party’s founder president. He is also state land development minister.

PRS has six members of parliament. Its vice-president Joseph Entulu serves at the federal level as deputy minister for national and rural development.

Other options, other than BN

On the current situation within the Sarawak BN, Beginda said it would seem that “we in PRS are still back in a bad school environment where the weaker students are being bullied by the more senior ones.”

He called for a mechanism in the BN for components parties to be protected from the predation of others, no matter what the excuse.

“Umno and PBB could be strong but that should be so without being dominant up to the level that it could openly ‘interfere’ into the internal affairs of another component party,” said Beginda.

Stressing that the BN leadership must be just, Beginda said the organisational integrity of a component party like PRS must be maintained.

“Its decisions, such as the nomination of candidates, must be respected. Failure to do this could lead to fragmentation at the peripheries and ultimately could spread to the centre,” he warned.

Beginda also emphasised on the need for re-generation, re-vitalisation and re-growth within the BN.“

The BN machinery is seen as an ossified body, presently unable to respond effectively to the needs of component parties and that of the country as a whole.

The message is that such dominance need to be rectified and ways be found as a means of resuscitating the rest of the BN partners so that the BN machinery could be energized and respond to the people more effectively,” he said.

Beginda reminded the BN top leadership that the coalition must wake up to current political realities and stop being in a state of denial.

“Before, there was only BN which could provide the national leadership. After March 2008, it is clear that PRS has other, perhaps better, options,” he ended with a veiled warning, without elaborating what these options might be. - Malaysiakini.com