Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing has blamed Jawah Gerang, the five-term Lubok Antu member of parliament, for the lack of development in the Batang Ai state seat which falls within the latter’s constituency.

james jemut masing “Of course as an ordinary MP, Jawah has no authority to decide on development programmes for Lubok Antu, but he should have lobbied hard for development in his area,” said Masing (left) .

Jawah had said the Barisan Nasional (BN) had not done much for Batang Ai for the 22 years that he was MP in the ruling coalition and that this had prompted him to join opposition PKR.

He is taking on Malcolm Mussen Lamoh of the BN in the Batang Ai by-election on April 7..

batang ai by election jawah gerang khalid ibrahim campaign 310309 01 Masing said Jawah should have found out what kind of development programmes the people wanted and then lobbied hard on their behalf by speaking to the relevant ministers, as this was his job as MP.

He also expressed confidence that Lubok Antu would catch up with other rural areas in Sarawak if BN wins in Batang Ai.

Jawah, however, refused to accept blame, saying: “I did not hold any ministerial post. The ministers in Sarawak could have done something to develop Batang Ai instead of focusing on the areas they represent such as Mukah, Betong and Kapit.”

'Projects sabotaged'

On the campaign trail, Jawah has accused some ministers of trying to sabotage his constituency funds by withholding the allocations, therefore resulting in many of his projects being half-done or derailed.

“I fought hard for funds to develop Lubok Antu, to help them planting oil palm and to help them repair their longhouses. But my funds were withheld. Now who is to be blamed?

batang ai by election jawah gerang khalid ibrahim campaign 310309 03 “If Batang Ai or Lubok Antu for that matter is not developed, these ministers should be the ones to be to be blamed. Don’t blame Jawah.”

An economics graduate of Universiti Malaya, Jawah has appealed to voters to give PKR a chance, since BN’s policies are “outdated”.

“We should look to PKR-ruled Selangor where the emphasis is on a people’s economy not an economy that benefits certain groups, companies or cronies,” he said.