Bidayuh community asked to unite under BN
KUCHING: Members of the Bidayuh community who are divided politically have been asked to unite under the umbrella of Barisan Nasional (BN).
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong pointed out that at present there are Bidayuh in various BN political parties as well as opposition parties.
“In the state, we have Bidayuh in the ruling BN government, while there are also Bidayuh in PAS ( Parti Islam Se- Malaysia) and DAP (Democratic Action Party) and other opposition parties, but we ( Bidayuh) must stay united under the umbrella of BN to move further forward like other communities,” he said yesterday when opening Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Mambong triennial general meeting.
Manyin who is PBB vicepresident said the Bidayuh population of around 222,000 should be thankful to be concentrated in areas such as Serian, Penrissen and Bau where there are BN elected representatives from their community.
The eight state seats in predominantly Bidayuh areas held by Bidayuh elected representatives are Tasik Biru (Datuk Henry Harry Jinep), Opar (Datuk Ranum Mina), Tarat (Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn), Serumbu (Miro Simuh), Bukit Semuja ( John Ilus), Mambong (Datuk Dr Jerip Susil), Tebedu ( Manyin) and Kedup (Martin Ben) - all from BN.
The three parliamentary seats held by Bidayuh elected representatives are Serian ( Dato Sri Richard Riot Jaem), Mas Gading (Datuk Anthony Nogeh) and Puncak Borneo (Datuk Seri James Dawos Mamit).
“With such a scenario, Bidayuh must take the opportunity and advantage to unite under this BN umbrella,” added Manyin, who is also PBB Tebedu chairman.
He called on the Bidayuh to think of themselves as one community, irrespective of districts of origin.
Manyin stressed the community should focus on education, particularly technical skills to prepare for industry 4.0, as well as open up idle land for commercial agriculture.
“It is not enough for us to have the infrastructure and basic amenities; we must also open up our land for agriculture,” he said.
On PBB, Manyin said the party has continued to remain the backbone of the state BN government as a result of the commitment and unity of party members from the grassroots to the top level.
During the meeting, Dawos, who is Deputy Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, was retained as PBB Mambong chief.