The opposition Democratic Action Party assemblyman for Bukit Assek (Sibu) Richard Wong Ho Leng expressed disappointment to the Sarawak Legislative Assembly's rejection of his three private member's motions at its sitting last week.

Wong, a Sibu lawyer and the party's remaining Sarawak assemblyman after the other, Jason Wong Sing Nang for Pelawan, quit the party recently, gave notice on April 26 for the motions.

But Speaker Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar rejected all three motions last week on what Wong described as 'flimsy grounds'.

The first motion sought to amend the Sarawak Land Code to ensure among others, that 'all notices imposed on land under Section 47 (of the Land Code) shall automatically lapse three years after their imposition if the government or the relevant authorities do not require or acquire the land within the three-year period'.

He had also proposed that any remaining portion of land not wholly used for purposes gazetted under Section 47 be allowed to revert back to their original owners while all expiring leaseholds should automatically be renewed for a further 99-year term of tenure.

Financial help

The second motion was to request the state government to make annual financial allocations to independent Chinese secondary schools and Chinese primary schools in Sarawak for 'the enhancement and better provision of Chinese education in the state'.

The DAP assemblyman said, "Education is an important and indispensable facet of nation- building. There are many non-Chinese studying in independent Chinese secondary schools and Chinese primary schools in Sarawak."

He added that these schools had not received adequate financial assistance from the state government. "Much of the needed funds for the running the schools come from public donations," he said.

Wong said the boards of management of such school in Sarawak have repeatedly requested or appealed for financial assistance from the state government for the running of the schools.

He told malaysiakini that the Speaker, in the faxed letter to him on May 9 rejecting all his motions, said that education was a federal matter and was not within the competence of the state assembly to deal with.

Wong, however, pointed out that the Sabah Legislative Assembly has been making such yearly allocations to Chinese schools as with the case of the Melaka and Terengganu state governments.

Internet postings

The third motion was to ask the House to condemn the 'poison pen letters being distributed widely advocating criminal violence against the Sarawak chief minister (Abdul Taib Mahmud) and his family'.

It proposed the setting up of a special committee to investigate how classified material and confidential documents pertaining to the chief minister and government departments had come to be posted on the Internet.

It should also investigate the truth of the allegations posted on the [#1] website [/#], added the motion.

According to Wong, the Speaker said the state government would not respond to unidentified writers of 'poison pen' letters and saw no need to set up a special committee to deal with 'baseless allegations' against the chief minister.