Seven Bidayuh village chiefs in Bau District have demanded a public apology from Tasik Biru state assemblyperson Peter Nansian for saying that their services had been terminated because they were gila-gila (crazy).

If he fails to do so with costs and within three days, they are prepared to take the Barisan Nasional (BN) representative to court.

demand bn rep to apologize for gila gila remark 220908 They held a press conference today at the office of the opposition State Reform Party (Star) in Kuching, Sarawak, but none of the party officials were present.

Spokesperson Mohd Yassin bin Abdullah @ Josin anak Niung, 56, of Kampung Tembawang Baru, said they have also sent a letter of appeal to Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud seeking redress and remedial action.

Others present were Moslim ak Taim, 48, of Kampung Setiat Lama; Tyron ak Galan, 48, of Kampung Bobak; Sylvester Bungas, 66, of Kampung Daun; Ajong ak Noyep, 66, of Kampung Stenggang; and Rijod ak Ragin, 78, of Kampung Segong.

Among the village heads are three retired servicemen, a retired police sergeant and a retired teacher.

sarawak state warning letter to village heads for supporting opposition parties 090908 Six of them had received a warning letter (left) from the Bau district officer in the run-up to the general election in March, directing them to stop campaigning for Star president Dr Patau Lubis.

Patau was contesting on a Sarawak National Party ticket against the BN’s Dr Tiki Lafe and Independent in the Mas Gading parliamentary constituency.

In early July, they received a letter from the state secretary’s office, terminating their services as village chiefs with effect from July 31. They would stop receiving their monthly allowance of RM450 from August.

Nansian, the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party senior vice-president, was later quoted by The Borneo Post as saying they had not performed their duties and that “one or two of them were gila-gila because they are always going against the government”.

The village heads took exception to this, saying that Nansian has shamed them before their community, and were further upset with the implication that they were of unsound mind.

“We are supporters of Barisan Nasional. We have done nothing wrong,” said Mohd Yassin.

‘Don’t meddle with customs’

Mohd Yassin said village heads are traditionally elected by villagers and that outsiders, including elected representatives or the government, should not interfere in the process.

“As far as we are all concerned, we are still the ketua kaum (heads) of our respective villages,” he said, adding his hope that politicians will not influence villagers to elect new heads against their wishes.

sarawak state termination letter of 7 village heads 090908 He denied the chiefs had been campaigning for the opposition and said that, if there was proof of this, it should be revealed.

Otherwise, the authorities would only be acting on reports by certain people with vested interests.

Tyron, who was elected in July 2001, said he was unhappy when Nansian helped to organise the villagers in his kampong to elect his replacement by “locking the people inside a church hall where a meeting was held”.

Tyron said the police came at 10pm to arrest him and held him overnight in the Bau station lock-up. The next day, he was sent for psychiatric evaluation to the Kota Sentosa Hospital, but he was not required to be admitted.

The seventh chief, Sylvester Bungas, said resigned because of “great pressure” on him. His letter has been accepted by the state authorities. However, he joined the group to protest the remarks made against them, saying such comments are defamatory.