‘Remarks about PRS having gone full circle rather weird’
KUCHING: Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru ( PBDS Baru) describes Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing’s wish for Parti Rakyat Sarawak ( PRS) to be like the nowdefunct PBDS during its heyday, as ‘strange’.
PBDS Baru information chief Bobby William said the declaration by Masing, who is PRS president, on PRS being open to all Dayaks, including all Dayak elected representatives, for the sake of greater Dayak unity, was not a surprise as it had been highlighted in several occasions before, when some people doubted PRS’ status as a so- called ‘Dayak political party’.
Bobby noted that it was ‘rather weird’ to hear Masing – a former PBDS senior member – to talk about PRS now ‘returning to full circle’, when it is allowed to come back and use the former PBDS headquarters, beginning today.
He questioned Masing as to why he had not done something to stop the glorious PBDS from being deregistered in the first place, when it stood as a platform for genuine Dayak unity right from the start.
“His ( Masing’s) proclamation may show a misinterpretation, that (it is) only now PRS is officially opening its doors to the Dayaks.
“His ( Masing’s) statement saying that he would not tolerate those who try to break that unity, especially from within, is also an understatement – when he himself seems to be breaking such unity by not nominating his own deputy president to defend his parliamentary seat in the upcoming election.
“Now, are we going to see another history of a ‘ Dayak’s broken shield’ all over again?” he said in a statement yesterday.
His (Masing’s) statement saying that he would not tolerate those who try to break that unity, especially from within, is also an understatement – when he himself seems to be breaking such unity by not nominating his own deputy president to defend his parliamentary seat in the upcoming election. Now, are we going to see another history of a ‘Dayak’s broken shield’ all over again? Bobby William, PBDS Baru information chief
Bobby’s comments were made in response to a news report published on The Borneo Post yesterday, headlined ‘ Masing: PRS is for all Dayaks, including Dayak reps’.
Adding on, Bobby said with such attitude towards his own deputy president within his own party, it gave a clear answer to Masing’s own question: “Why can’t Dayaks be united again, like in the old PBDS days?”
“In the article, Masing reiterated his party’s stand that Lubok Antu and Selangau incumbents Datuk William Nyalau Badak and Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun, respectively, would not be renominated.
“If every decision made is the party’s decision and not his, then it should also be the party’s decision to promote the disunity amongst the Dayaks within the party,” said Bobby.