Don’t upset Sarawak’s racial harmony

AS concerned people in Sarawak, we are deeply perturbed by the recent political developments in the country, in particular where references have been made to Sarawak.

For example, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, president of PAS, one of the coalition parties in the new government, has stated that “Only bumiputra Muslim can be chief minister” in Sarawak (“Sarawak polls: Only bumiputra Muslim can be chief minister, says Hadi Awang”, The Star, March 5; online at bit.ly/star_pas). Such a statement is extremely detrimental to the excellent racial harmony in Sarawak and is not enshrined in the state’s Constitution.

Sarawakians will support any qualified Sarawakian who has majority support to be the chief minister. The majority of people in Sarawak are Dayaks of multiple religious beliefs and they are free and wise enough to choose who they want to be leaders.

More importantly for Sarawak, the well-being of the people should be the top priority for anyone aspiring to lead the state. Unfortu-nately, from our visits to longhouses and kampungs over the past 40 years, we note that there are still many dilapidated housing conditions in many rural areas. Cer-tainly, some of our present leaders are not caring and doing enough for our rural folks’ well-being.

We also note that many rural areas are devoid of young adults, as the majority of them have to go elsewhere to make a living – this does not augur well for the development of such areas. Things must change or rural Sarawak will slowly but surely become haunted, without a living population or economic activities.

This brings us to the question of why so many of our young people have to leave their longhouses and villages to find jobs? Sarawak is a land of vast natural resources of timber, oil and natural gas, hydro power and plentiful land area that rightly should be able to provide gainful employment for young people. There should

not be poverty if the wealth from these resources are distributed fairly. Obviously, there must be some changes to the current distribution of wealth in Sarawak so that all Sarawakians, irrespective of their race and beliefs, can share in it.

We believe that with better management of the state’s vast land resources – by awarding parcels of land of between 100 acres and 200 acres (40ha to 80ha) in size to young people who can apply modern farming techniques – many areas can be quickly developed.

This will also bring about plentiful supplies of agricultural products and, in turn, create a vibrant downstream economy comprising warehousing, logistics and packaging, machinery sales, insurance, banking and many others.

Together, we can bring these changes to Sarawak. Sarawak for Sarawakians!

PHILIP WONG PAK MING

Chairman, Komunity Harapan Malaysia Bulat, Sarawak