Community chiefs propose Hulu Rajang MP to be made full federal minister
KUCHING: Community leaders from Hulu Rajang are calling upon the new unity federal government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to appoint their current parliamentarian Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong as a full federal minister.
In a joint statement yesterday, they said they had not had a federal minister for a very long time since the late Tun Datuk Patinggi Temenggong Jugah Barieng, who was the Sarawak Internal Affairs Minister during the post-Malaysia federation days in the 1960s.
The community leaders, comprising Temenggong Ajang Sirek, Pemanca Joseph Unak Akah, Pemanca Umek Jeno, Magoi, Penghulu Linggie Masing, Penghulu Dominic Minggu and Tuai Rumah Lichong Along, pointed out that the people’s acceptance towards Ugak had been immense judging from the increasing number of majority votes secured during the recently-concluded 15th general election (GE15).
Ugak, who is also vice-president of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS)
– a component of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), is into his third term serving as MP.
In the Nov 19 polls, he secured a majority votes of 7,505 to defeat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak information chief Abun Sui Anyit in a straight fight.
In the last two elections, Ugak secured 6,315 and 5,834 majority votes, respectively.
In his remarks, Linggie was quoted as saying: “The community leaders in our constituency (Hulu Rajang) support the wish of the people to call for the appointment of our representative (Ugak) as a minister in the new unity federal cabinet.
“It has been a long wait for most of us to see that our representative be given the opportunity to hold a cabinet minister post. We hope YB Datuk Wilson Ugak would be a minister so that he could bring the development in Hulu Rajang to greater heights.”
Unak said Ugak’s performance as MP had been ‘excellent’, adding that the federal ministerial appointment, if materialised, would be seen a gesture of gratitude towards the Orang Ulu for their support for the government all this while.
Minggu also commented, describing Ugak as being more than capable to become the strong voice of the ethnic minorities, such as the Penans, in Parliament.
The community leaders, in their joint statement, also expressed their wish for PRS to be given two federal deputy minister posts by the new unity government.
“Our constituency (Hulu Rajang) is the largest, at around 31,000 square kilometres in size, and the most challenging one to develop, apart from the fact that it is situated very close to the Sarawak-Kalimantan Barat border.
“Hulu Rajang, in Kapit Division, also has three major hydro-electricity power dams – located in Bakun, Murum and Baleh.
“As such, we badly need a fullfledged minister so that our MP can help in expediting the pace of development in the rural areas of the state, including Hulu Rajang.”
Under the previous Perikatan Nasional (PN)-led federal government, Ugak was an appointed member of the Parliamentary Security and Border special committee, and he has also been the chairman of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) since 2020.