The Sarawak chapter of right-wing Malay rights group Perkasa has told the BN to brush aside the demands of the Chinese and focus instead on “reinstating” the rights and privileges of the bumiputeras in the state.

NONE Sarawak Perkasa chief Abang Abdul Nasser Abang Hadari said the Chinese have betrayed the ruling coalition by “membalas susu dengan tuba” (repaying milk with poison)," he said in a statement.

“Ever since Perkasa was launched in Sarawak, it has never questioned any claims by the Chinese, as a sign of respect for the 1Malaysia concept.

“The Chinese community should blame Pakatan Rakyat, and even more so DAP, if Sarawak’s pribumi community deny all their demands.”

utusan malaysia and umno Abang Abdul’s statement comes in the wake of a series of articles by Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia , the first of which was a Sunday column by ‘Awang Selamat’ asking the BN to disregard the Chinese when forming its future electoral strategies.

‘Awang Selamat’ - a pseudonym used by Utusan editors - said the anti-BN sentiments of Chinese voters nationwide only prove that the community not only wants to maintain its long-held control of the economy, but also become a dominant force in politics.

Today, Utusan editor Zaini Hassan called on Umno to launch a ‘1Melayu, 1Bumi’ campaign to push for “racial unity” to counter what he claimed is DAP’s agenda to get Chinese voters to take over political power from the Malays.

Demands listed

Abang Abdul implied support for Utusan’s views, calling on the federal and Sarawak governments to realise the special rights for pribumis in Sabah and Sarawak by, among others, replacing the New Economic Policy with an affirmative action policy tailored for them.

His other demands include:

  • Realising non-Muslim bumiputeras’ rights to practise their religion, while respecting Islam as the nation’s official religion
  • Ensuring all pribumis enjoy access to basic infrastructure such as electricity, water and clinics
  • Automatic scholarships for bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak who achieve the minimum requirements to enter college and universities
  • Special leeway for bumiputera students in public universities for all critical courses
  • Ensure that projects and contracts for bumiputera contractors and companies are issued transparently and effectively to allow ease of monitoring

“Perkasa congratulates Sarawak’s pribumis and the BN government under the leadership of Abdul Taib Mahmud and his elected representatives for winning their respective constituencies,” he added.

“BN must retain its fixed deposit in Sarawak, and not allow anyone to disturb or challenge it.”