PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim reiterated today a theme he has relentlessly hammered away since he began driving two years ago the opposition Pakatan Rakyat’s quest for political reformation: Citizens of all races have an equal place under the Malaysian sun.

“I have said before and will not tire from repeating, that under a Pakatan government, a Malay, Chinese, Indian, Dayak or Kadazan problem will be viewed as a Malaysian problem,” said Anwar in remarks made to Malaysiakini .

NONE “There will be unity of effort and a unity of objective to give meaning and reality to our Malaysian Economic Agenda for a new and revitalised Malaysian nation,” emphasised Anwar in the face of incipient criticism that some Pakatan leaders view the non-Muslim bumiputeras of Sarawak as politically backward.

“That view has never had a place in the Pakatan vision of an egalitarian Malaysia,” asserted Anwar.

“Instead, that view is more reflective of the attitude of Barisan Nasional leaders who want to keep the Dayaks sequestered in their isolation from the mainstream of economic and political development of the country,” claimed Anwar.

Remarks made by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in the run-up to the Manek Urai by-election two weeks ago have stirred criticism from Sarawak BN leaders who accuse the Islamic party leader of casting a slur on the capacity of Dayaks to make wise political choices.

Time for a ‘new birth of equality’

hadi awang interview 040208 anger According to a July 11 Malaysiakini report , Abdul Hadi blamed the lost of Batang Ai by-election - the only one which Pakatan failed to win of the seven by-elections since the last general elections - on Sarawak’s ‘loincloth’ (cawat) mentality.

Anwar has since moved quickly to do damage control over the furore and reasserted that Pakatan has the welfare all Malaysians at heart.

“The actual people who are condescending towards the Dayaks and insist on treating them like they are incapable of making politically wise choices are the very people who have kept them for more than four decades isolated in their poverty in the depths of the Sarawak interior,” he said.

“By reaching out to them, the Pakatan coalition is recognising the claim of every citizen of Malaysia to his or her right, without exception, to life, education and employment,” Anwar reiterated.

the antidote article sarawak natives stories 120509 03 “Our New Economic Agenda will address their poverty regardless of race and draw them to their rightful place as equal citizens. They have been marginalised all these years and the time has come to give them a new birth of equality.

“Under a Pakatan government, this rhetoric will be translated into reality through a higher allocation of resources and more focused attention to their developmental needs,” emphasised Anwar.

The Pakatan coalition has pledged to give both Sabah and Sarawak 20 percent royalty payment (as distinct to the existing 5 percent) on oil and natural gas revenue generated by each state.

Anwar said PKR in particular would carry the message of Dayak liberation from poverty and isolation from mainstream development from now until the next state election, expected much sooner than constitutionally due in 2011.