‘Strong potential for DAP in Dayak areas’

Fractured Sarawak Barisan Nasional lacks focus to aid poor Dayak community.

KUCHING: Sarawak’s geopolitical landscape has much to offer DAP if it is prepared to genuinely embrace Dayaks into its fold, said a branch-level party leader.
Expressing his view at a recent Dayak Reawakening seminar held here, Leon Jimat Donald said if handled correctly, DAP, which gave the Pakatan Rakyat coalition 12 seats in the April 16 state elections, could win many more constituencies in the polls to come.
He said this was considering the fact that there are 28 state and 15 parliamentary seats which are predominantly Dayaks.
“If we analyze the current geopolitical landscape of Sarawak, there is a lot of room for the DAP to grow.
“But we see the need for DAP to embrace the Dayaks into its fold,” said Donald who is Simanggang branch chairman.

He was presenting a paper entitled ‘DAP as a Dayak political platform’ at the seminar which was organised by the Dayak Consultative Council.
Said Donald: “There are currently 28 state and 15 parliamentary seats with Dayak majorities.
“These include six state Bidayuh seats, 18 Iban,and four Orang Ulu state seats. For parliamentary seats Bidayuh have three, Iban’s have 10 and two Orang Ulu seats.
“There are 14 state and six parliamentary seats which are Chinese majority, and there are four mixed seats in which no particular race constitutes a majority.
“But unfortunately there are no mixed parliamentary seats. In total, there are 47 state and 21 parliamentary seats which the Pakatan Rakyat has every chance of winning,” he said.
Dayak support for DAP
Donald pointed out that the opposition coalition needed to win 36 seats in the state assembly to form the state government.
He noted in his paper that in the recent state election, the opposition had made giant strides in the political landscape.
DAP had nearly wiped out Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) in the urban areas. They had also won some seats in mixed areas much to their surprise.
Together with PKR, the Pakatan coalition now have 15 seats in the Sarawak state assembly.
“The recent state election saw a significant increase in Dayak support for the party.
“It is from this experience that we can ascertain that the rural Dayaks continue to be a vital contributor in deciding the results both state and parliamentary elections.
“Nevertheless, although the Dayaks are a vital contributor to the BN’s vote bank, they are still amongst one of the poorest in the country and continue to be marginalised,” he said.
He attributed this to the weak Dayak leadership within state government.
“Nowadays they (BN) are so fractured and not focused that they lack commitment and foresight resulting in the interests of the community not protected.
“They choose to keep quiet even when the Orang Ulu, Bidayuh and Penan communities are forced to vacate their ancestral homes,” he said alluding to the reports of land grabs, native evictions and issuance of provisional leases to oil palm companies to deforest and plant oil palm.