KUCHING: Indian-Sarawakians numbering approximately 10,000 people are happy with the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
This is obvious judging by the various interviews given by the current leaders as well as ordinary members of the community.
Though small in number, Indians have been part and parcel of Sarawak’s multi-racial potpourri. History tells us that the first speaker of the Council Negeri (precursor of today’s Dewan Undangan Negeri) set up in Bintulu was Dr Sockalingam Murugesu a local doctor and businessman.
Local Indians can trace their origins to the spice traders, workers for the Rajah Brooke administration, and Malayans
who came to serve in the military, police and various other governmental bodies.
Some Indians can even trace their ancestors to the first generation immigrants, and they proudly continue to call Sarawak their homeland.
Take Shankar Ram Asnani, for example. He is a lawyer and president of the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Kuching.
When asked about the Chief Minister and GPS, he that Abang Johari has strong roots in Sarawak politics, and recalled that his late father Tun Abang Openg Abang Sapiee was the first governor following Sarawak’s independence from Great Britain and the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
“This is very important because before that, the position of governor was held by a British officer appointed by the monarch of Britain,” he said.
“Before he became governor, Tun Openg was very active in Sarawak politics. He was a fair-minded and liberal Muslim who was sensitive to the rights of other races.
“Abang Johari seems to have inherited the leadership attributes from his father as he is a kind-hearted and fair leader. He believes in not discriminating against other races and religions.
On the formation of GPS, he thought it is necessary that Sarawak stands independent of all the political turbulence in Malaya which is still volatile with PKR and Bersatu wrestling for dominance.
“GPS is good for Sarawak as all the major parties representing the multi-racial people unite with one objective, that is, protecting the rights of Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.”
Therefore, he said, Malaya must see Sarawak as an equal or one of the three partners that formed Malaysia which is what Abang Johari and his team want.
“Abang Johari is a vibrant, down-to-earth leader. I will support him,” he said.
Ex-Penghulu T Komarusamy, 90, can say that he has seen it all, been there and done that.
He was a teenager when the World War II Japanese invaders landed.
He served in the Sarawak government as a protocol officer in the Chief Minister’s Office under Tun Abdul Rahman Ya’kub and Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud until his retirement from service, and until recently he served as Penghulu of the Indian community in Kuching.
To him, the Chief Minister is a dynamic, far-sighted leader with plans for Sarawak to progress.
“He has always been a considerate leader even before he became chief minister. He cares for all communities even from before he got involved in politics,” he said.
On GPS, he said forming it to replace Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) was timely and a far-sighted step.
“It will help Sarawak progress and should result in a stronger State,” he said.
Karambir Singh, the president of Miri Indian Association, is also all praises for the Chief Minister.
“He has shown that he wants to be inclusive of all races in Sarawak. As an example, his strong support for Unifor shows he is walking the talk,” he said.
“Also, it is good that GPS has been formed as it allows the current four Sarawak parties to exclusively focus on Sarawak matters. Previously, there was too much political baggage in terms of having to refer to the opinions and policies from Malaya.
“It is a challenging time for GPS but also a great opportunity that must now be seized to show that they can bring Sarawak forward to the next level of success.”
Nadeson Ratnam, a businessman and president of the Indian Association Kuching, also has only kind words for the Chief Minister.
“He is a leader who understands the needs and aspirations of each community, even a minority people like Indian.”
To him, GPS would stay relevant as long as the rights of Sarawak are protected and they listen to the voices of Sarawakians.
Paliani Samba Bilaidom (aka Lucy Lingam), observed that the governments of the past mostly took an ad hoc approach to addressing the multi-religious communities in Sarawak.
The president of the Sarawak Indian Women Association, who is also a businesswoman, said she was happy with the formation of the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) by Abang Johari.
Calling it an important milestone, she sees Unifor as proof of sincerity of the GPS government and shows the Chief Minister’s seriousness in handling a sensitive issue like religion.
“Other states with similar demographics will do well in learning from Abang Johari and Sarawak on how to handle multi-religious communities,” she said.
She agreed with Abang Johari when he said that in Sarawak the different ethnic groups regard each other as relatives. Another thing that got her attention is the fountain at Kuching Waterfront which has “definitely brightened up the otherwise dark place”.
“The bright lights make people feel safer at the waterfront. We can see more families gathering there now compared to before,” she said.
A young businesswoman, Vagini Mahalingam, described the Chief Minister as “a people’s person” because “he talks in very simple language that we all can understand”.
“His topics are usually about us in Sarawak and I like it when he tells jokes,” she said.
On the GPS government, she sees it as “only our people who understand our needs”.
“I hope we all support our government as long as they continue to take care of us all,” she said.
Shan Sahundaraju, an executive with a local company and also a musician promoting Indian ‘Urumi’ (drum percussions), admitted that he is not well-versed in politics and could only say that the Chief Minister is always good to the Indian community in Kuching.
“Our ‘Urumi’ group is always invited to participate in official events and our temples in Kuching always receive financial allocations from the government. So in that sense I can say we are lucky to have such a caring and inclusive government in Sarawak,” he said.
If the opinions and comments of the above individuals are taken as representative of the general attitude of Indian Sarawakians, then it can be concluded that the community as a whole is a staunch supporter of the Chief Minister and the GPS government.
The consensus seems to be that under Abang Johari’s leadership and the current detachment from Malayan politics, Sarawak should have few obstacles to scale greater heights of achievement.
