Dr M alone doesn’t determine PH direction, Masing told
KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan ( PH) Sarawak has reminded Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar James Masing that PH chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad alone does not determine the direction and policies of the coalition.
Therefore, whether Dr Mahathir is sincere or not is not the issue, its information chief Vernon Kedit pointed out.
“The issue is that Pakatan Harapan as a coalition has released the five thrusts which are wholly supported by all the leaders in every political party in the coalition, including Tun Mahathir himself.
“In Pakatan Harapan, we decide by consensus and these five thrusts were arrived at by consensus. When we win the 14th General Election (GE14) as a coalition, we will implement these five thrusts for Sarawak,” he said in a press statement yesterday.
Vernon was referring to Masing’s statement on Tuesday that questioned Dr Mahathir’s sincerity when the latter said he would review the Malaysia Agreement 1963 ( MA63).
“Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing forgets his roots. He was an ardent opposition leader during the early days of PBDS ( Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak) in the 1980s. He led the charge against the injustices promulgated by Barisan Nasional in Parliament which systematically stripped away Sarawak’s rights which were done well before Tun’s time as prime minister. Then Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing joined Barisan Nasional and began to sing a different tune.
“How long has Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing been in power? More than long enough to insist that his colleagues in BN redress the wrongs committed by Umno against Sarawak. Did he go to Tun Mahathir and table amendments to the laws that downgraded Sarawak?
“Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing did no such thing, as far as the public know. Even if he did raise issues behind closed doors, nothing has come of them. It has become common knowledge that Masing is very good at complaining in the newspapers but remains obediently silent in the Dewan ( State Legislative
The issue is that Pakatan Harapan as a coalition has released the five thrusts which are wholly supported by all the leaders in every political party in the coalition, including Tun Mahathir himself. Vernon Kedit, information chief
Assembly) where it matters. So, who has been insincere all this while?”
Besides questioning how many MPs Parti Rakyat Sarawak ( PRS) has put in Parliament, Vernon also asked how many of them had spoken out against Dr Mahathir when he was the prime minister.
“We can only surmise that they too follow the lead of their president Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing by making some noise in the newspapers for show but when it comes to the real deal in Parliament, they are either absent during the vote for important matters pertaining to Sarawak or if they are present, they vote obediently according to the whims of Umno.
“The Hansard of Parliament is readily available and I will be more than happy to remind Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing of the ‘sincerity’ of PRS MPs towards Sarawak and Sarawakians when they voted with Umno against the rights of Sarawakians.”
And at the end of the day, Masing will keep on singing his favourite song titled ‘Jangan Lawan Tauke’, Vernon added.
“It is his own sincerity which is now on public display. By pointing one finger at Tun Mahathir, four fingers are pointing back at him and his state assemblymen and MPs who have failed Sarawakians not only during Tun Mahathir’s tenure as prime minister but up until today.
“Tun Mahathir’s sincerity is not the issue; BN Sarawak’s insincerity is the glaring issue and that is why Pakatan Harapan’s five thrusts is the only mechanism that Sarawakians can hope for to heal the festering wounds that BN has inflicted on Sarawak for 54 years.”