Zombieland - where the likes of PPP, Gerakan, MIC, MCA, SNAP rule

Written by Ismail Dahlan, Malaysia Chronicle

The curious thing about zombies is that they don't always know that they're dead. Or some of them know it, but are in denial. Which may explain the proliferation of these zombies in Malaysia of late, particularly since 2008, entire parties of them.

The PPP is the oldest of these zombie parties. They have no excuse for staggering about in such a rotting state; they have been dead long enough to know it for sure. Whatever are they fighting for? If asked, they will claim to be fighting for the people.

But what they are actually doing is fighting for one of them to be a deputy minister. Even when they do not have a single seat, because they have been thoroughly rejected by the people whom they claim to be fighting for. What garbage-pickers! Disband your silly party, sirs, and spare us your stench!

Then you have Gerakan, another party roundly rejected in the only state where they had any sway, Penang. In the 12 state seats they contested in Penang in 2008, they won zero, and lost every one by large majorities. Their 10 Parliament seats were reduced to 2. They are a Chinese PPP now. But there they are, still strutting about making pompous statements.

Koh Tsu Koon unblushingly accepts a Cabinet post, despite having lost his own seat, but then proved so incompetent that he had to be replaced by Idris Jala. Of which fact he pretends to be blissfully unaware, collecting his redundant salary every month, borne by the struggling Malaysian taxpayer.

If the Gerakan wasn't sure after the 2008 election that they had joined the ranks of the walking dead, they should surely know by now. But still they hang around, making feasts of the scraps and bones thrown to them by Barisan. Another bunch of garbage-pickers!

Soon to be joining them is the MCA, clearly forsaken of popular support, even before an election is called. Its members, having learnt no lessons from 2008, decided that it was a good idea to elect a scandal-tainted politician as their President, who was thick-skinned enough to later talk about morality.

At a loss for ideas on how to regain support, they resorted to threatening their own voters that they would not accept any seats if they lost, meaning there would be no representation in the Cabinet for the Chinese.

They forget that Malaysian have the power to dump the entire Cabinet, by electing a new government. We have yet to see the MCA giving up any posts. They bark at the people, and wag their tails for their masters.

And marching right beside the MCA, his arms thrust straight out in front of him, like any self-respecting zombie, is Palanivel, the MIC's mostly-silent President who advises the Indians to go back to the estates, while promising to make them millionaires, all in the same contradictory breath.

The MIC is constantly proclaiming that the Indian vote is returning to the Barisan. Of course they have to say this, otherwise what use are they to the Barisan. Their functions without fail involve handing out clothes (cheap ones of course) or other inexpensive goodies to those who turn up. These rent-a-crowd tactics are their basis for claiming returning support.

The tragic bit is every Indian who turns up to receive such miserable hand-outs from the MIC, is a living example to their failure for the past 50 years. Nay, it is more than failure that they are guilty of, it is criminal neglect of their constituency, and worse.

If they are not busy neglecting their constituents, they quarrel among themselves for the spoils of their mean politics. Witness the recent MIED drama, where one of them sues Samy Vellu, because, of course, he is 'fighting for the people'. And then he queitly withdraws his suit. By ‘co-incidence’, he now has a seat on the board.

Samy Velu, despite having no position in the party, holds the equivalent of a Ministerial post, paid for of course, by you. (Oh, and by the way, we're cutting your subsidies because they cost too much. We can't cut the government's bloated RM18 billion administrative cost, because if we did, who would pay the Samy Vellus and the Koh Tsu Koons and all the other freeloaders?)

The MIC continues to dance, locked in embrace with Barisan, even though it is without doubt, their last song.

And in Sarawak there is SNAP. Why would they still hang around, contesting every other seat? And how could they possibly afford to? In the event, they made no difference. But do they give it up? No, they hang around, perhaps to make no difference in the next elections. Making no difference can also, apparently, be a lucrative pursuit.

And Malaysians can only sit and watch bemusedly, at all these lurching, putrefying zombies wearing fancy suits, dining in 5-star hotels, driving expensive cars, and of all things, standing for elections. Not only do dead men vote in Malaysia, they contest seats!

It really may be time to be rid of them. - Malaysia Chronicle

Melayu Perkasa

Today I step alKitab with both feet ! @LeonLeeBMG @allencharlie @leonleebmg @poppabelle @daveencypini @nonvitaltooth .. Starting tomorrow, I will use the pages to wipe off my shit as toilet paper... Not too bad... Soft like kleenex ! Wakekeke !!!

05/26/2011 via UberSocial

See more pics of this person stepping on the Bible in different feet poses at Melayu Perkasa.

The Lost City of Kota Gelanggi - cover up!

For those who read about it, you will recall that in 2005, the Malaysian Govt was excited about accidentally finding an ancient civilisation in Johor. This was reported in the various newspapers.

There was talk about excavating the huge site to rediscover this civilisation. And then..... silence! After that, no news at all about this discovery.

A number of times I have discussed with friends that there was definitely a cover-up because the authorities did not like what was discovered - something that is contradicting what the Govt is trying to claim. And so many years passed and now I received this email revealing what I suspected to be true! Read on.......

Good to know who are the real Pendatang... The Indians and Chinese were here way before the Malays ... You have to start learning the correct history.

Regards,

LEE Ong Kim (Dr)

Associate Professor and Head

Policy and Leadership Studies

National Institute of Education

NIE2-03-54, 1 Nanyang Walk,

Singapore 637616

Tel: (6... GMT+8h | Fax: (65) 6896-9151 | Email:ongkim.lee@nie.edu.sgWeb: www.nie.edu.sgAn Institute of Nanyang Technological University

A small piece of History for our future generation. Why Kota Gelanggi (lost city) touted as earliest civilisation in Malay Peninsula news was banned as they were Buddhist.

The Johor find of 2005 which was quietly dropped was none other than Kota Gelanggi lost city reflecting Srivijaya and its Buddhist splendour. But they deliberately disregarded it because that would have sidelined Malacca Empire and Islam which was smaller and came some 500 years later. I met Dr Lee Kam Hing, a former History prof at MU in Singapore recently at a seminar. Dr Lee, who is now Star research director, told me he was trying his best to highlight Kota Gelanggi, but that the govt killed it off. This is clearly another case to cover up the real history of Malaya and fool the younger generations into believing that our history only began from Malacca 1400.. Not only that, they try to show Parameswara as Malay and Muslim, but actually he was Hindu! If one were to condemn these UMNO scumbags on how they distort history, it will never end......the condemnations will more than cover 10 PhD thesis!

A small piece of History for our future generation Hitler's public relations manager, Goebbels, once said, 'If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.'

Once again our government wiped out any references to a famous Melaka prince as being Hindu and belonging to the powerful Hindu empire Sri Vijaya. So all of a sudden our museums, school text-books etc. all refer to Parameswara as a Malay prince.

What race ruled or did not rule is beside the point. What is important is not butchering history to create your own truths. You cannot change your race even if you convert - Parameswara could have been responsible for Umno's proud heritage of ' Ketuanan Melayu '.

If this is what it is based on, there is no ' Ketuanan Melayu '. The lineages of Melaka Sultans are Indians, not Malays. It is no secret that Parameswara was an Indian and a Hindu prince. It is clear from records that Parameswara never converted to Islam. He was an Indian Hindu who fled Palembang in Sumatra to eventually found Melaka circa 1400 AD. It was Sri Maharaja who converted himself and the court of Melaka to Islam, and as a result took on the name of Sultan Muhammad Shah sometime after 1435.

The most famous of Indian Hindu Kings were Raja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola who invaded Southern Thailand, Kedah, Perak, Johor and Sumatra about 1000 AD. This is Raja-raja Chola - the Indian/Hindu kings and not Raja Chulan - a Malay king. But what is really sad is that our children are taught as though Malaysian history suddenly began in 1400 with an Islamic Melaka.

We are led to believe that the Indians and Chinese first arrived on the shores of Malaysia in about 1850 as desperate indentured labourers, farmers and miners. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The cultural influences of India in particular, and China, in South East Asia span over 2,000 years, starting with the arrival from India of the Brahmanical prince/scholar - Aji Saka in Java in AD78, through to Vietnam, Cambodia (Indo China), Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, Bali, Borneo, Brunei and beyond.

The findings at Bujang Valley speak of an ancient Indian/Hindu presence in Kedah. There were Chinese settlements in Pahang and Kelantan around the 13th-14th century and in 12th century in Singapore.

The early Brunei Sultanate had a Chinese Queen. One need not ponder at length the implications of Angkor Wat and Borobudur or that 40%-50% of Bahasa Malaysia comprises Sanskrit words. To illustrate, some of these words are :

bumi = boomi singgasana = singgasanam

putra = putran perdana = pirathamar

raja = rajah menteri = manthiri

desa = thesa kapal = kappal

syakti = sakthi samudra = samuthiram

kolam = kulam sepatu = sappattu

bahaya = abahya

jaya = jeya

maha = maha

aneka = aneha

nadi = naadi

kedai = kadai

mahligai = maaligai

mantra = manthrum

tandas = sandas

(This list can go on)

An extremely important archeological find that pointed to one of the greatest empires in history - the Raja Chola empire that ruled from the Maldives through India , Sri Lanka and right down to South East Asia found deep in the jungles of Johor a few years ago and made headlines in the mainstream newspapers in 2005, suddenly disappeared from the news¦..

The time has arrived for us to record our history as the facts tell us and not as we would like to wish it. The truth will never hurt anyone. Lies, always will.

National Institute of Education ( Singapore ) http://www.nie.edu.sg/

Congratulations, Jabu!

Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu admits the state does clear forests to plant oil palm as part of efforts to wipe out poverty. But hang on a sec, says Philip Khoo; what happened to RM19bn in logging royalties that the state should have received from a hundred million trees chopped down?

A Toastmasters International district governor presenting a souvenir to Jabu (second from right) - Photo credit: The Star

The official standard line in international forum is to flatly deny that Sarawak has cleared primary forests to plant oil palm.

Until 21 May 2011, that is.

On that day, long-standing Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu Numpang, defiantly admitted that Sarawak does clear forests to plant oil palm, excusing it on the grounds that it is to assist in poverty eradication (See Malaysiakini report.)

And he should know, at least as far as the part about clearing forests for oil palm is concerned. He is also state Minister of Rural Development.

His ability to pronounce on the latter, poverty eradication, would be questioned by some unkind souls who think he should be titled more appropriately Minister for Rural Under-Development – in the sense of under-development introduced by the great South American intellectuals in an earlier era of development thinking. Those South American intellectuals knew all about under-development, as their countries’ household incomes covered the whole range from the richest in the world to the poorest.

All guns firing, indiscriminately

As he was speaking on the occasion of the opening of the Toastmasters’ International District 87, it is to be hoped that the Toastmasters toasted him appropriately for his candour, if not for the quality and content of his speech.

An earlier generation of Orang Ulu, specifically Kayan, would have known how to have toasted, parap, him, lacing their toast with loaded messages of praise, filled with double meanings.

For of course Jabu did not only admit to the policy of clearing forests for oil palm, he came out with all guns firing — if indiscriminately.

He lambasted the foreign NGOs for their hypocrisy in forgetting the history of their own countries’ environmental degradation and suggested that they should pay compound interest for the environmental loans their forefathers had taken, before they are allowed to open their mouths to condemn Sarawak.

In doing so, he somewhat lost the plot, as these NGOs are trying to make up for their forefathers’ environmental sins, not only at home, but globally. Amongst their number are persons who, at home, have chained themselves to old growth stands, or lived in them, to prevent their destruction. There are campaigners against more highway development, against polluting industries and against the export of polluting industries to developing countries.

Losing the plot – magnificently

Meanwhile, it is the Sarawak Government that is lusting after the true heirs of those — those eager to capitalise on what they expect to be cheap energy from the dams, so that they can claim they are using “clean” energy for their polluting industries such as aluminium refineries.

But we can safely leave the NGOs to defend themselves — and indeed many of them would only be happy to see their countries pay for their previous and ongoing contribution to global climate change.

Jabu truly lost the plot when he claimed that forest clearance in Europe, the United States and Australia had to do with poverty eradication, just as in Sarawak.

Instead, in at least the United States and Australia, as in Sarawak, it was the natives who paid the price, including the ultimate price of hunger, disease and death, for forest clearance which was — and is — to make a select few gloriously rich in the shortest possible time as they raped nature in the name of development.

He lost the plot in magnificent style in trying to justify oil palm development in Sarawak as poverty eradication, pointing out that the 1.2 million people in rural Sarawak still lacked basic infrastructure.

Hang on, logging didn’t wipe out poverty

And he quietly omitted to mention whatever happened to that previous hare-brained scheme for development — logging — with apologies to hares.

By official statistics, Sarawak chopped down over 370 million cubic metres of logs between 1980 and 2006. Since up to 40 per cent of the tree goes to waste, this amounts to something like 620 million cubic metres of trees. That is a lot of trees: if we estimate a tree to average 6 cubic metres, that’s something like 100000000 trees* — one hundred million trees! — and that’s not counting all the trees that are damaged irreparably by logging activity.

Let’s be conservative and use the present royalty of RM50 per cubic metre to estimate that these 370 million cubic metres of logs would have resulted in about RM19bn in royalty over the years.

RM19bn in royalty — not counting all the other revenue that logging contributes to — and Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Rural Development Alfred Jabu Numpang says that rural Sarawak is still lacking in basic infrastructure? Whatever happened to the RM19bn? Did others just numpang on it, while the rural people saw the forests disappear before their very eyes?

Others will be better qualified to estimate the kilometres of roads, or numbers of schools or hospitals, or telephone coverage possible with RM19bn over 25 years, or RM760m a year on average – although it is pertinent to point out that Sarawak has the lowest road index in the country, much lower than even Sabah.

What is clear is that rural Sarawak still subsists on dangerous logging roads, and has little telephone coverage. Schools are provided by the federal government, and although there’s a fairly generous number of rural primary schools, secondary schools remain a different story altogether with 12-year old kids having to go to towns as boarders to be in secondary school. Hospitals are also provided by the federal government, but in the interior of Sarawak — using electoral districts as identifiers: Ba’kelalan, Batu Danau, Telang Usan, Kemena, Kakus, Belaga — there are no hospitals, despite a promise to Belaga 15 years ago!

And Jabu expects oil palm to do the trick?

So, logging didn’t do the trick, and now it’s oil palm.

But wait: the overwhelming proportion of oil palm in Sarawak is in estates. Besides those owned by the companies from Malaya such as Sime Darby, IOI and the like, the rest are owned by… yes, the same logging companies that raped the forest. Again, the rural people watch the palm trees grow on former forests, much of it their native customary rights (NCR) area, and the most they can expect is to become labourers at, at best, RM20 a day. This is supposed to bring development?

Let’s name the companies, or at least the “Big Six” — Samling, Shin Yang, Rimbunan Hijau, KTS, WTK and Ta Ann.

The first two, Samling and Shin Yang, are known to have between them, over 2 million hectares of forest concessions, much of it now under so-called license planted forests, which include oil palm, and all still counted as part of the state’s permanent forest estate.

Presumably, the others too have similarly large concessions, with KTS, under the guise of KTS-Pusaka, a KTS-Sarawak State joint venture, also having an estimated 500000 hectares slated for oil palm plantations, stretching from Belaga all the way to the Tutoh. (Just in case there are those who think, well, KTS-Pusaka is all right, as the pusaka is the people’s pusaka, the caution is to reserve judgment in a state where PPES Works, or Perbadanan Pembangunan Ekonomic Sarawak Works is not, as the name suggests, a state-owned company but a subsidiary of Taib-family owned CMS Bhd, while another listed private company, Sarawak Plantations Bhd (SPB), got at least part of its plantation area from the closure of state-owned Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB).)

Well, it appears that at least Penangites have derived some development benefit from Sarawak’s deforestation. PenangFon, admittedly a much better broadband service than Streamyx, is owned by Rimbunan Hijau. Apologies for any moral dilemma this raises for environmentally- and people- conscious Penangites.

* To help visualise what a hundred million trees are, let us assume that all logging is carried out according to law and that the average tree has a diameter of 50cm. Then, one hundred million trees, side-by-side at the trunk, would come to 50000km. They would circle the earth at the equator and have 10000km left over!

Philip Khoo, a keen observer of Malaysian politics, is a regular contributor to Aliran

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SNAP condemns call to rally against CM

Posted on May 20, 2011, Friday

KUCHING: Sarawak National Party (SNAP) is calling on all its urban and rural Dayak members to not support a street protest if Chief Minister Pehin Sri Taib Mahmud did not step down by Aug 13 as proposed by the Movement of Change Sarawak (MoCS).

SNAP publicity committee spokesperson Chemegi Kalong said the call made by MoCS leader Francis Siah was merely to further his personal interest and ulterior motives. He recalled that Siah had attacked SNAP bitterly during the last state election, especially after the party withdrew from Pakatan Rakyat.

“Siah attacked us like hell, saying all sorts of things. So I call upon all Dayaks in Sarawak, old and young not to join the street protest, “he said in a press statement issued yesterday.

Chemegi said when Siah attacked SNAP, he was also attacking the Dayak community. “SNAP is a Dayak organisation. Attacking Snap means attacking the Dayak community. To all the Dayaks in Sarawak, Francis Siah is our enemy.”

He said the party must not be lured by Siah into supporting his call for demonstration to oust the chief minister as he believed that Taib was still the right man to lead the state.

“He brought development to us so why should we remove him? He should continue to do the job to bring in development to us,” he added.

He reminded Dayaks not to be hoodwinked by Siah’s sweet talks and remain united to fight for the rights of the Dayaks.

http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=131478

‘SNAP needs to re-invent itself to become relevant again’

by Peter Boon. Posted on May 13, 2011, Friday

Felician Teo

Dr Gregory Hii

SIBU: SNAP today only has residual value which unless it re-invents itself will continue to be on the sidelines of mainstream Sarawak politics.

A councillor in Bintangor, Felician Teo, said yesterday that SNAP’s leaving PR had minimal impact since it had been regarded as a spent force.

“It needs revitalisation of its party and leadership, rebranding of its image (they are not going to win many votes just reminding Sarawakians that they are the party of Sarawak’s first Chief Minister) and most importantly, start to build grassroots political machinery,” Teo told The Borneo Post.

He was asked if SNAP’s move to severe its ties with PR would have impact on the united front.

Its secretary-general Stanley Jugol was quoted as saying that SNAP could no longer work with PR as it had been sidelined during and after the nomination prior to the just concluded state election.

Jugol was also reported to have said the proposed merger talks with DAP would cease automatically, following them severing the ties with PR.

Teo figured that would be a win-win outcome for both parties if that ever happens.

The way he saw it, DAP needs to expand its political base from urban Sarawak.

“This is because the move will make them seen to be supported by more than one racial grouping, though the reality is that they have gained support from other races other than the Chinese to win in some seats during the recent state election,” he quipped.

And what better way than to forge strategic alliance with SNAP, which represents an immediate platform for them to build a support base among the rural electorate, he noted.

Added Teo: “SNAP would have gained a new lease of life by riding on DAP’s well oiled political machinery, team of first class political strategists and strategy executers and other resources at their disposal now that they are in government in some states.”

He also did not discount the possibility that SNAP was knocking on BN’s door since without political alignment with either BN or PR, SNAP would head into political oblivion.

In an earlier interview, veteran political observer Dr Gregory Hii said while SNAP’s leadership was entitled to its own decision to reflect best interest, “constant changes to its affiliation/position in PR will give an impression that it is not a committed, reliable partner and disciplined organisation. And that is not good.”

Dr Hii reckoned that if SNAP wanted to build itself, it needed disciplined leaders, clearly defined goals, good and efficient organisation with solid grassroots support, committed and hardworking members, willing to sacrifice themselves.

“They must have adequate financial means to work towards its goals,” he opined.

Call to purge SNAP of opportunists

FMT Staff | May 11, 2011

Responsible political leaders should 'atone for their sins by honourably resigning', said a former SNAP deputy president.

KUCHING: Sarawak National Party (SNAP) should purge itself of “political opportunists” before the general election.

A former deputy president of the party, Ting Ling Kiew, said if these “opportunists” refused to resign voluntarily, they must be pushed out.

“If they should refuse to resign voluntarily, SNAP members should immediately initiate an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to legally change the current leadership.

“As a strong supporter of SNAP for the last 30 years, I call upon the entire central working committee members to immediately resign and give way to new blood to revive and rejuvenate the party.

“They should take full responsibility for the humiliation it has brought to SNAP.

“They should not regard the party as their family’s personal property and make use of the party to make a living,” said Ting.

Ting was sacked as the deputy president of the party after the Sibu by-election last May when he called on SNAP members to support the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Robert Lau Hui Yew instead of the Pakatan Rakyat candidate Wong Ho Leng.

At that time, SNAP was a member of Pakatan comprising PKR, DAP and PAS.

But in the run-up to the recent April 16 state election, SNAP became embroiled in a seat tussle with PKR and has since pulled out.

‘Leaders must atone’

Ting said that many young professionals and qualified political aspirants have openly expressed their concern and their interest to join the party if the leadership changes were effected immediately.
“There is no more reason for the current SNAP leadership to hold on. By now, they should realise that they are incapable of helming the party and should give way to others.

“By holding on to their positions, they only prove that they are greedy, selfish and power-crazy people.

“Their continued presence in the party will eventually lead to the death of SNAP,” Ting warned.

The results of last month’s state general election was something for SNAP leaders to ponder seriously.

He said being wiped out and losing their deposits in all except in one of the 27 seats contested was the most humiliating “trauma” ever experienced by any political party.

“Responsible and decent political leaders with moral credibility should humbly atone for their ‘sins’ by honourably resigning en bloc to give way to new, young and responsible leaders to take over.

“Only then can the party be relevant and worthy enough for DAP to negotiate and come to terms with in the Sarawak political context,” he added.

Dundang may seek re-election

Meanwhile, SNAP president Edwin Dundang told The Star that he is considering seeking a fresh mandate as party chief in the party election in August.

He took over as president after James Wong stepped down in 2002 after helming the party for more than 20 years.

Under Dundang, the party had taken part in two parliamentary elections and two state elections.

Except for winning a seat in the 2006 state election, the party did badly, and the worst was the recent state lection where its 26 candidates lost their deposits out of 27 seats it contested.

Dundang himself lost his deposit in Marudi, a former SNAP stronghold.

BN allies wooing SNAP members

Joseph Tawie | May 10, 2011

Barisan Nasional partners, PRS and SPDP, are competing to win over disgruntled Sarawak Nasional Party (SNAP) members.

KUCHING: Sarawak National Party (SNAP) members have been urged to abandon the party as it is no longer relevant to the current state political landscape.

This call came from the party’s former central executive committee (CEC) member Sylvester Enteri.

Urging disappointed members, Enteri, a former Marudi SNAP branch chief, said: “It is no longer SNAP of the old days; it is SNAP that has been rejected by the people.

“You can decide for yourselves to which political parties you want to join in this democratic country.”

Enteri is hoping to convince unhappy SNAP members to join his Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), a Barisan Nasional ally. SPDP won six of the eight seats it contested in the recent state election.

Enteri, who is now SPDP vice-president and Assistant Minister of Public Utilities, had contested in Marudi against SNAP president Edwin Dundang. Enteri polled 4,578 votes in this once SNAP stronghold, as against 281 votes obtained by Dundang who lost his deposit.

Close shop

Yesterday Enteri asked SNAP to close shop following its disastrous outing in the April election. SNAP lost its deposit in 26 of the 27 seats contested.

Enteri said it was now clear that Sarawakians had rejected the party and its candidates.

He said SNAP leaders had hung on to their past glory and had been harping on the fact that the party was the oldest in the state and that it had once reigned supreme.

“But SNAP’s past did not go down well with the present generation of voters….the party is no longer relevant,” he said.

Last week another BN partner, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) called on SNAP members to join PRS in order to strengthen the voice of the Dayak community.

The once proud party’s fortunes began to sharply decline in early 2000 after a bitter quarrel between its then MP for Bintulu Tiong King Sing and the party leadership over a failed TV3 project which was supposed to have been built in Bintulu.

The quarrel led to the expulsion of Tiong and nine CEC members party. Enteri was one of them because he disagreed with the expulsion.

Enteri, together with the other expelled members, then went on to form SPDP in November 2002.

William Mawan was made the president of the party, with Enteri as secretary-general and Tiong as the treasurer-general. The party was immediately accepted into the BN fold at state and federal levels.

SNAP leaders must resign

Joseph Tawie | May 8, 2011

Beleagured SNAP's 'pullout' from Pakatan is 'immaterial' as its current leadership has 'lost all credibility', said a former top party offical.

KUCHING: A former Sarawak National Party (SNAP) vice-president has demanded that the party’s entire Central Working Committee including its president Edwin Dungan resign en bloc and take responsibility for the April 16 polls fiasco.

Declining to reveal his name, the former Sarawak Assistant Minister said: “They know who I am … they should all resign.

“They should be courageous enough to claim responsibility for the dismal performances of their candidates who all except one lost their deposits,” he said adding that it was irrelevant whether the party remained in Pakatan Rakyat or not.

The former Julau assemblyman described SNAP’s ties with Pakatan as ‘immaterial’ as party had ‘lost its credibility.’

“Whether SNAP is out of the Pakatan Rakyat or not is immaterial.

“The most important thing is for the CWC members – from the president downward – to resign and elect new committee members in order to bring credibility and integrity to the party.”

He was commenting on reports quoting SNAP secretary-general Stanley Jugol who on Friday said the party had severed its ties with Pakatan.

Jugol was quoted as saying that the 50-year-old SNAP had decided to quit Pakatan after it was sidelined following disagreements on seat allocation.

“We are no longer in Pakatan. We are now on our own,” he had said adding that it was meaningless for the party to remain in the coalition as it was no longer invited to attend any functions or meetings organised by the opposition alliance.

No credibility

Speaking to FMT yesterday, the former SNAP vice president said: “SNAP has lost its credibility and cannot claim itself to represent the Dayaks anymore.

“The recent state election clearly showed that the Dayaks have rejected the party especially under the current leadership.

“SNAP cannot rely on history and its past glory to win back the Dayaks’ support for the party, especially the young Dayaks who do not know even who SNAP’s Stephen Kalong Ningkan was.

“These young people cannot be bothered with past history as they are more interested with what the party can offer them in the future,” he said.

In 1974 SNAP won 18 state seats and nine parliamentary seats in the Dayak majority constituencies. Its leader, Ningkan was made Sarawak’s first chief minister. But their immaculate pedigree was of little use in last month’s polls.

Going into the election SNAP was already at loggerheads with PKR over seat allocation.

Refusing to compromise SNAP went ahead and contested in 27 Dayak majority constituencies with Dundang boastfully declaring they had the support of Dayaks.

In the end 26 candidates including Dundang lost their deposits. (NYAU CENGKERAM!!!)

Personal opinion

Meanwhile, Jugol today clarified his Friday statement.

He said it was his personal opinion that SNAP should pull out of Pakatan.

“The CWC members have not met to discuss the issue (pulling out), but I believe it is the general feelings of the CWC members as well as members of the party that it should leave the Pakatan Rakyat.

“What appeared in the local press that the party has severed its ties with the Pakatan Rakyat was my personal opinion,” he added.

Meawnhile Sarawak PKR information chief See Chee How when contacted said that it was not surprising that SNAP pulled out of Pakatan considering what its leaders did and acted before the state election.

He said SNAP had some good grassroots members, whom he thought would be good SNAP leaders in the future.

“But now some of them have started to join PKR… now they realised that the party is only an empty vehicle which is not able to serve the interests of the party and members of the Dayak community,” he said.

Anonymous Letter

SNAP is a party with a lot of frogs who fantasize and dream that somehow, someday they will turn into handsome princes, which they never were in the first place.

It is a party that had been mutilated beyond recognition over the years through the selfish acts of their own members with their respective agenda.

That internal divisions were well exploited by their political rivals through divide and rule, leading to the party's eventual de-registration by the ROS, only to be given a new lease of life after a few leaders met Najib just before the Batang Ai by election of April 2009.

One of those who met Najib, including Ting Ling Kiew, who was the Deputy President, was however sacked by the party. SNAP was then hijacked by a few fellows who initially thought the PKR could be their vehicle for a Dayak agenda (when SNAP's fate still being in limbo at that point).

This include people like Paul Kadang, who once worked at the PKR HQ and who ran down the PKR just before the recent Sarawak election, trying to rationalize the rebranding and revival of SNAP! Even Daniel Tajem who was once PKR adviser was roped in as a member of the new team.

The money flowed at the initial stage but when the well wishers realised that the SNAP revival was Najib backed and not contributing to the Pakatan cause, the taps went dry. The president, Edwin Dundang, who only managed to get 281 votes in Marudi, however brags that SNAP is now like a young lady with a number of potential suitors, DAP included.

The results of the recent Sarawak election where all the SNAP candidates, except one, lost their deposits suggest what the voters, even in Dayak majority seats, think of these fellows. So the Dayaks aint't no fools after all.