The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s condolences yesterday to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the Belaga boat disaster is most appropriate although made two days after the tragedy and after I had made adverse comments on the “silence and indifference” of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister as they “had not said a single word on the Belaga boat disaster in the past two days”.
However, I am very disappointed that apart from calling for “a detailed investigation to determine the cause of the boat tragedy in Sungai Rajang, Sarawak on Tuesday”, both the Federal and Sarawak State governments have continued to ignore the problem of rural road access in Sarawak especially to Kapit and Belaga – which is the root cause of the tragedy of express boat disasters in upriver areas of Sungai Rajang.
The Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Datuk Rahani Abdul Karim yesterday visited Belaga to convey the condolences of the Prime Minister to the families of victims of the Belaga boat tragedy, and a Bernama reported quoted her as saying:
“Yesterday, during the weekly meeting of the Cabinet, the prime minister was so sad over the incident, and he directed me to come (today) as a representative of the federal government.”
This raises the question why Najib or the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Malaysian Security Council (MKN) Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim had not visited Belaga themselves to get first-hand information of the Belaga boat tragedy – which they would have done if the Belaga disaster had occurred before the 13GE polling date on May 5.
Why should a difference of 23 days between May 5 and May 28 when the Belaga boat tragedy occurred make such a great difference as to whether the PM, DPM or the Minister in the PM’s Department, would have made a personal trip to Belaga themselves?
In fact, if the tragedy had happened before May 5, even the Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud would have personally visited Belaga himself, instead of just leaving it to Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang.
Yesterday I raised the question whether the Belaga boat disaster was on the agenda of the weekly Wednesday Cabinet meeting two days ago, and whether the Cabinet made any decision to ensure road access between Sibu, Kapit and Belaga – and if not, then what difference has the appointment of seven ministers and four deputy ministers from Sarawak to Najib’s post-13GE Cabinet made to development for the rural population in the state?
Dayaks, Sarawakians and Malaysians are entitled to answers to these questions, or they will be raised by Pakatan Rakyat MPs in the first meeting of the newly-elected 13th Parliament on June 24.
Undoubtedly, the right to equitable development by rural Sarawak 50 years after the formation of Malaysia, including road access to rural areas like Kapit and Belaga, will be one of the major issues in the 11th Sarawak state general elections which will be held in 18-24 months’ time.
There are 28 Dayak-majority seats out of 71 in the Sarawak state legislative assembly.
The Dayaks, comprising the Iban, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, Murut and other non-Muslim ethnic groups, are the majority race in Sarawak, forming over 40 percent of the total 2.6 million population.
After Tuesday’s Belaga boat disaster, with 12 persons still missing after three days’ fruitless search and rescue operation, the right of the rural folks, particularly the Dayak communities to equitable development 50 years after the formation of Malaysia, including rural road access, should bulk large in the forthcoming 11th Sarawak state general elections.
That’s it. The gobermen will allocate 5billion to build a 50million ringgit bridge.
Even treat like animal in today standard thankful you
Took election as joke a day of gift n little money for an exchange
Took election day like monkey playground
Vote without being an responsible the future of country
///Why should a difference of 23 days between May 5 and May 28 when the Belaga boat tragedy occurred make such a great difference as to whether the PM, DPM or the Minister in the PM’s Department, would have made a personal trip to Belaga themselves?///
As the Chinese saying goes: Pulling the planks away after finished crossing the bridge (过桥抽板). This is nothing new in Malaysian politics.
You can’t build first class rural infrastructure when you have an entire class of people seeking to be parasite on top of the pyramid of trickle-down economics.
The truth is rural infrastructure are long-lead-time loss making enterprise – a long term social subsidy before it pays off.. If you have a whole class of urbanite rent-seeking sucking the blood of those needed subsidies, these kinds of happenings are merely casualties of their self-interest.
But why the natives in Sarawak or Sabah are still so “taksub” with BN? Come on, by looking at the GE13 results, BN won with big majorities in most rural areas over there. Its an irony that they still want BN although knowing the devil in them as their chief minister provides the prime example. Are they satisfied with not wanting to demand so much, i.e rm300 or 500 is already good enough? Or is it they just dont trust Anwar ? Oh well, hope Pakatan can make more inroads there as it is not good enough still. Stop with the hudud issue as over in east malaysia, it is nonsense if Pas wants to pursue with it.
If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual.
For every new mouth to feed, there are two hands to produce. That makes you an easy prey!