PBDSB to field Saini Kakong in Opar
KUCHING: Retired headmaster Saini Kakong will be Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru’s (PBDSB) candidate in Opar, announced the party’s vice president Rapelson Richard Hamit yesterday.
Rapelson said that Saini, 60, is a Bidayuh Salako Rara from Kampung Kendaie, Lundu and a local of Opar.
He added that Saini was formerly with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in 2019 but quit in 2021 to join PBDSB to fight for the rights of the Dayaks.
“Saini believes PBDSB is the ideal Dayak party in fighting for Dayak rights and uplifting the standards of the Dayaks to be on par with other races in Malaysia. In particular, issues regarding Native Customary Rights (NCR) land and also Dayak involvement in economics and politics.
“The party believes that Saini’s professional experience and experience in community service is able to bring positive changes to the development agenda in Opar and the party as a whole. He is also sensitive to the issues faced by the local community and is able to bring new ideas,” Rapelson said in a statement.
Saini is a graduate from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and served in the academic line from 1982 to 2021.
Saini served as headmaster of SK Telok Melano from 1993 to 1994 before being transferred to SK Biawak the next year.
From 1996 to 2005, Saini served in the Lundu District Education Office as head of a unit before serving again as headmaster in SK Raso from 2006 to 2010 and then at SK Holy Name until his retirement last year.
He is the chairman of Malaysian Red Crescent Lundu Branch since 2018.
With Saini joining the contest, Opar is set to see a multicornered fight with incumbent Ranum Mina from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) expected to face opponents from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK).