Extracted from Malaysiakini

Extracted from Malaysiakini.com

Sarawak DAP: SAM snubbed us on fight for native land rights
KS Paul
1:52:07 PM Aug 4, 2003

Sarawak DAP chairperson Wong Ho Leng has refuted the Marudi-based Sahabat Alam Malaysia’s (SAM) claim of the absence of opposition parties in helping the natives over their NCR land problems.

"SAM had never expressed any interest in DAP's efforts to foster and enhance the Dayaks' native customary rights. Many times I had approached them. They shunned from us," Wong wrote in the popular Sarawak Talk website yesterday.

On Saturday, SAM’s field officer Jok Jau said with the absence of any opposition party there has been increasing pressure on the environmental group to handle complaints from indigenous groups in the Baram.

"It would seem that natives possibly see us as the only channel to which they could bring their complaints on infringements of their customary rights land," Jok said.

Still backing BN

Wong also asked whether SAM and other similar groups had spoken to the Dayaks and urge them to muster their courage not to vote the BN?

"I doubt so. I bet I am right in saying that the natives, despite their displeasure over dwindling NCR land, are still supporting the BN," he claimed.

Wong, a former state assemblyperson for Bukit Assek, said that he had repeatedly spoken for the Dayaks on the NCR land issue in the state legislative assembly.

"So much so that a minister (Adenan Satem), in his effort to please his bosses, called me a pseudo champion of the Dayak people.

"But I don't care what this guy (Adenan) thought of me anyway. I never thought highly of him as a talking minister," said Wong who served a term as an elected representative from 1996-2001.

Too afraid to talk

Saying he was disappointed with BN representatives for their reluctance in protecting the NCR land of the natives publicly, the DAP leader revealed that none of them dared to utter a word in the assembly during his five years there.

"They are just too afraid to talk on behalf of the Dayak people for fear that they would offend the chief minister (Taib Mahmud) and deputy chief minister (Alfred Jabu). For sure, any of what they might say would have incurred their wrath," he said.

Wong said that Chiew Chin Sing (the DAP’s sole representative in the state assembly) had also spoken out for the Dayaks, Malays and Chinese people on land issues.

"When Chiew tried to move a motion on NCR recently, it was killed because there was not a single BN member expressing support, even although the speaker asked twice in his chair.

"Now, is SAM telling us there is an absence of any opposition party talking on NCR issue?" he posed.

Wong added that "if the NCR holders and claimants refuse to ‘wake up’, they will have to blame themselves one day".