Honour forgotten war, sports figures with proper recognitions, state govt told
MIRI: Sarawak government must consider awarding recognitions to war heroes and sports figures who had contributed so much through their respective fields, said Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDS Baru).
According to party chairman Bobby William, there are many individuals who seem to have been forgotten by many, despite having contributed immensely to the country either through sports or nation-building.
“Everyone has been talking about how we should appropriately award our very own diving queen, Pandelela Rinong.
“What about other sports figures and war heroes?” he pointed out in a statement issued here yesterday.
In this regard, Bobby expressed disappointment over the failure of some Dayak leaders, in that they ‘had remained silent’ in this matter.
“None of them has ever proposed any reward to the war heroes and sports figures in Sarawak.
“Among the forgotten heroes are Watson Nyambek, Bala Duta, Buda Anchah, Ballang Lasong, Vivian Ng, James Yakop, Sapok Biki, George Awi, Bujang Taha and Tania Bugo.
“They all had sacrificed a lot, and all that for the sake of being good at their respective sports.”
Bobby pointed out that the Dayak leaders had not been seen congratulating these sports heroes – let alone propose any reward, be it monetary rewards or honorific title, to them.
“If our very own Dayak leaders are ‘silent’ and unappreciative towards our Dayak sports champions, how could we expect others to respect us?” he asked.
As for war heroes, Bobby listed Jaweng Jugah, Awang Raweng and Menggong Panggit as among those who had sacrificed so much for Sarawak, and also to the country.
“Undoubtedly, there would have been many more awards given to the Dayaks.
“However, these heroes were still recognised as civilians and therefore, not eligible for any military honours and awards.”
Pandelela’s recent gold medal feat at the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup had many wanting her to be rewarded.
However, Minister of Youth and Sports Sarawak Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah had remarked that while the state government would accord some kind of reward to Pandelela, he also said that it was not good to always reward an athlete each time he or she won something.
The minister also said to not ‘spoil her’ when asked about the possibility of Pandelela being accorded datukship in recognition of her achievements.
Abdul Karim’s statement has since drawn backlash from the public, many of them taking to social media to express their dissatisfaction over what the minister had said.