KUCHING: Sarawak should not allow racial issues to dominate its political discourse, particularly as the state moves closer towards another election.
Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) deputy president Datuk Henry Harry Jinep said issues surrounding race, discrimination and Native Customary Rights (NCR) land tended to resurface as elections approached, but questioned whether such rhetoric offered practical solutions to communities.
“We don’t subscribe to that kind of racial politics. These issues seem to surface only when an election approaches.
“If these were genuine concerns, what have you (the opposition) been doing about them for the past four or five years?” he told a press conference here today (Aug 25).
Henry said Sarawak’s political direction should not be determined along racial lines, pointing to PDP’s multiracial composition as an example.
He said the party comprised members from the Malay, Chinese, Bidayuh, Iban and Orang Ulu communities.
“If we all resort to racial politics, where are we actually heading? What is our way forward?” he asked.
On NCR land, Henry cited the approach adopted in Bau, where he said communities were brought together to document their land and establish mutually agreed boundaries.
He said the process involved engaging landowners at the village level and getting them to collectively agree on boundaries before the necessary land documentation could proceed.
For context, almost 90 per cent of land in Bau had been issued grants or titles, with many areas in Tasik Biru similarly having received land titles.
“That is why you can see Bau developing now. Land values have increased because the land has been titled.
“When the government builds roads and land is affected, compensation has also increased because the land has proper titles,” he said.
Henry said the focus should therefore be on finding workable solutions to issues affecting communities rather than raising them only when an election was approaching.
He said rural communities were ultimately looking for tangible improvements that would have a direct impact on their daily lives.
“People want better roads, a better education system and better healthcare,” he said.
Henry stressed that these development needs should remain the focus rather than politics based on race.
