Rebut Violet Yong

"I deeply hope that the Unity Government will continue to push for reform and opening up, remove the malpractices in more areas, and make Malaysia a law-abiding society." At the same time, I also call on the Sarawak government to keep up with the federal government and inject more elements of democratic reform into the administration to benefit the vast majority of Sarawak citizens! " — — Violet Yong 

Recently, DAP Sarawak Violet Yong has made some rather astonishing claims that the Sarawak government is lagging behind the federal government and actually advised the Sarawak government to keep up with the federal government. 

The assertion that the Sarawak government should "keep up" with the federal government  overlooks the significant strides Sarawak has made under the visionary leadership of our YAB Premier, Abang Jo and his capable cabinet members. 

Initiatives such as free education, advancements in hydrogen and green energy, establishment of a state bank and airline, an insistence to keep English as one of its official languages, building international schools and deploying Cambridge syllabus and the creation of a sovereign fund are helping to elevate living standards and are transforming our region’s landscape.

These initiatives are not just promises but tangible actions to meet GPS’s Post Covid Development Strategies (PCDS) 2030 that directly enhance the lives of our people. Is YB Violet blind to all these? Does she not live in Sarawak?

Such remarks from DAP Sarawak serves as a reminder for all Sarawakians as to why our beloved Tok Nan, the late former Chief Minister of Sarawak once said ‘ We do not want UMNO here. Neither do we want DAP, PKR or PAS here. We do not want to be subject to the practices of some political parties which are originally from West Malaysia.’

Is Violet Yong trying to hoodwink Sarawakians into thinking that Federal in West Malaysia is doing a better job than Sarawak when it is actually the reverse? Back then people may have believed her but times have changed and people in Sarawak are better informed these days. They know that this is the same West Malaysia who has taken billions of ringgit of Sarawak’s oil and gas to build their shiny new towering buildings, formula one tracks and spanking new highways. Yes, this is also the same West Malaysia that has overlooked our UEC qualifications while Sarawak recognised it with the stroke of a pen and is progressing towards free tertiary education. 

We even have to seek permission from the Federal government to repair our dilapidated schools and clinics, build hospitals, construct fire stations, and roads. 

Despite our tax contribution to federal coffers, we still have to rely heavily on our Sarawak funds to address urgent needs such as building a cancer hospital. The Sarawak government has yet to receive the Rm100 million announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as reimbursement for the funds allocated by Sarawak to expedite the repair and upgrade of dilapidated schools and clinics. Despite the delay, Sarawak will proceed with the projects using Sarawak’s own allocations of Rm200 million as we cannot afford to wait. Throughout all this, they continue to siphon off Rm80 billion annually in oil and gas from us.

When Violet Yong advocates for the federal government’s efforts in opening up and eliminating malpractices, is she thinking of  their negative encouragement on the use of English when letters in BM will be returned to senders? Or is she thinking of the unfair treatment of straight A students in being unable to attain higher education and to pursue the career and dreams of their choice. Or maybe the democratic reforms she is thinking of at federal level is that of the six Bersatu MPs who jumped ship and were later sacked by their party? Is all these what she meant when she called on the Sarawak government to keep up with the federal government?

Why is Violet Yong, a Sarawakian herself taking this stance? Does her affiliation with West Malaysia warrant this criticism on her own hometown of Sarawak? It is evident her allegiance lies with West Malaysia because she is from a West Malaysian party. Afterall, her  DAP bosses are in West Malaysia. 

Even West Malaysians are openly in praise of our YAB Premier Abang Jo and his leadership of GPS Sarawak. Yet Violet Yong criticizes GPS for perceived inaction compared to Federal’s ‘competence’. Only those unwilling to see the truth would believe the accusations leveled by Violet Yong against the Sarawak government. Are Sarawakians voting for her because she entertains them at ceramahs with coarse and vulgar language or is it the clowning she provides in parliament for insinuating the title of Premier sounds like a brand of tissue paper? Maybe it is because of her promises to pave our drains with gold and diamonds? Didn’t Violet Yong also promise Rm2,000 to every Sarawakian the moment PH won the election? 

My point here is clear: the people in Sarawak are not fools to be manipulated and lied to. Broken promises, half- truths and ridicule aimed at upstanding leaders are not only dishonorable and disrespectful; when uttered by an elected representative, they raise doubts about the work ethics and trustworthiness of the candidate seeking votes.  

My advice to Violet Yong : Instead of spending her  time looking under rocks for dirt to throw at Sarawak, she should focus on helping Sarawak secure more allocations from the federal government to address flooding and advocate for greater autonomy in education and health for Sarawak. Afterall, wasn’t  it DAP who promised the immediate return of autonomy in education and health back to Sarawak in 2018, the moment Pakatan Harapan won the election? 

We already face sufficient challenges while pushing hard to bring Sarawak’s development to be on par with that of West Malaysia. Even after six decades since the formation of Malaysia , we continue to struggle with the federal government over our oil and gas royalties, the state’s entitlement to one-third of parliamentary seats, and rights over matters such as tourism.

What we need now is a strong united Sarawak. We must rally behind our YAB Premier who has worked tirelessly to improve lives in Sarawak despite disparaging remarks from West Malaysians who have dismissed our achievements as mere luck. Therefore, we cannot afford to have an opposition here in Sarawak whose allegiances clearly lie with West Malaysia against Sarawak. Such divisiveness distracts us from our goal of unity, peace, and advancing progress in Sarawak. 

DAP Sarawak argues that its role in the Sarawak government is to provide checks and balances. However, the GPS government has consistently proven that they prioritize the people's welfare and component GPS parties consistently speak up on issues of concern and will  continue to do what is right for the rakyat. 

In a world and country already grappling with instability, we must all do our part to preserve the precious fabric of unity and cohesion in Sarawak. The last thing we should do is to take this oftentimes fragile fabric of harmony for granted by contributing to and stirring up tensions within our communities. Our "Sarawak First" is not just a party slogan; it should be our guide in our lives as Anak Anak Sarawak.