Nothing unlawful about PBK holding protest convoy, insists president
Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan has asserted that the party’s ‘Say No To PAS’ protest convoy, which was conducted here last week, did not breach the law.
Voon and four other party members were arrested after police reports were lodged over viral video clips of the convoy making its rounds in the city last Wednesday (Nov 23).
In a statement yesterday, Voon said their ‘Say No To PAS’ drive was meant to highlight the concern by individuals, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and the Bishops about the political ideologies of PAS penetrating into Sarawak society.
He argued that if what PBK did was against the law, then he could not see why the NGOs and Bishops were not held for making the calls against extremism and fanaticism.
“Should they not be arrested too? Please be informed that I have been advised by our lawyers and lawyers from overseas, that the detention of me and my PBK colleagues was malicious, unlawful and indicative of an abuse of power and an abuse of the process of the court.
“In stating ‘Say No To PAS’, we never, at anytime, raised issues of religion, race, royalty and the Malay rights, and neither did our Bishops and the NGOs,” he stressed.
Voon said public concern about politics of extremism and fanaticism had received attention from Sarawakians and also those overseas. In this respect, he called for calm so as to not aggravate the whole situation.
Nonetheless, he also pointed out that the government must be sensitive to the voices of the people, stressing: “Those in the government are servants of the people; without the people, there would be no government.”
Voon also said the incompetency of and the selective exercise of powers by those in law enforcement and the relevant authorities could provoke the public and ‘create hate against them’.
“Abuse of power, selective exercise of power and incompetence could spark civil unrest, leading to lawlessness and collapse of society. We have seen such a situation happening in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.”
Voon felt that he must clarify the matter because many quarters had expressed their concern about the arrest made on him and his PBK comrades.
“The PBK is against the politics of extremism and fanaticism of all forms.
“Sarawakians believe in moderation and living in peace with one another irrespective of religion, race and culture; definitely, religious extremism and racialism are never welcome in Sarawak.
“They, including those whom I met in the past few days, were concerned about me being arrested for doing political work; (we) received many phone calls from those who were very concerned about my safety, and also appreciated me for speaking on their behalf.
“So when we said ‘Say No to PAS’, it was in the support for the individuals, NGOs and the Bishops regarding their uneasiness over the political ideologies of PAS penetrating into the society of Sarawak,” he elaborated.