MIRI – Small cash handouts and minor grants during election season are not going to transform the future of the 1.73 million Dayak natives in Sarawak, said civil society group Dayak National Congress (DNC).
DNC president Paul Raja today said the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) must revise how it is shaping the future of the Dayaks, who make up the largest community among the state’s population of three million.
He told The Vibes that the start of the new year presents GPS with fresh opportunities to change the fate of rural Dayaks and release them from the need to be dependent on cash benefits.
Raja, a lawyer and native land rights activist, said his new year hope is to see the Dayaks freed from being reliant on aid from politicians.
“Giving bits of cash handouts and minor grants every now and then is not going to help the Dayak community in the long term.
“The Dayaks in rural Sarawak need to be given sustainable opportunities to earn regular incomes of their own, better business supporting facilities, good infrastructure for better telecommunication coverage, community learning centres that provide access to digital technology, links to modern marketing networks, swift recognition of native land rights, banking facilities, better health amenities, better public transportation, among others.
“These are still lacking in rural Sarawak. GPS politicians need to do more.
“The DNC hopes the reelected GPS state government will put in more comprehensive efforts to lift the Dayaks’ standard of living.”
He added that some quarters are disappointed with the new state cabinet line-up, as a small group of GPS politicians are holding multiple positions simultaneously.
“The power in the state now is in the hands of a few GPS politicians. The people were hoping for a state cabinet that is more progressive and open, but this one is in the grip of a selected few.”
Raja said the rakyat expects GPS to fulfil all its state election promises as propagated during the recent polls.
He also expressed the hope that GPS will focus on rebuilding the livelihoods of the tens of thousands of people whose income and businesses were ruined by the pandemic. – The Vibes, January 1, 2022
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