For a party that represents Dayak majority constituencies in Sarawak, the Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) has failed in highlighting the plights of this community, said a popular blogger-cum-politician.

He also accused the party of being a mere bystander, only to be called in to add to the numbers.

"Ignoring the interests of the Dayaks can be fatal to the party's survival more so when the opposition is making major inroads into the rural areas,' said Joseph Tawie, a well-known Dayak blogger .

Joseph said that judging by the results of the last state elections, Supp's position appeared to be shaky in constituencies where Dayaks form a sizeable number of voters and he wondered if the party can continue to ignore the interest of the Dayaks.

joseph tawie broken shield The political analyst, also the pro-tem information chief of the yet-to-be-registered Malaysian Dayak Congress (MDC), added that many of the Dayak-majority constituencies were in danger of collapsing to the opposition in the next state elections.

He also noted that the state constituencies of Engkilili, Meradong and Kidurong - all which has a high number of Dayak voters - were already in the hands of the opposition.

Joseph also pointed out that when Supp delegates discussed issues pertaining to Chinese interests on Nov 14 in Kuching, a handful of its Dayak members could only sit and observe in silence.

He added that there was nothing these Dayak members could say when the party leaders and members were more interested in raising issues pertaining to Chinese interests - issues such as that the need to use mother tongue for the teaching of mathematics and science subjects in Chinese primary schools, the granting of annual grants to Chinese-aided and Chinese independent schools, the town land premium, the future of Chinese among others.

He said that for a Chinese party such as Supp, it was natural for the members to be concerned with issues affecting their community.

This was because these were the issues that have been and will continue to be exploited by the opposition, he added. In the 2006 state elections these were the issues that led to Supp losing eight seats out of 19 it contested.

Worried over the opposition march

At the moment, Supp leaders and members were discussing ways and means on their battle plans for the next state elections, especially in recapturing the eight seats which it lost the last time around.

The party was increasingly worried with the onward march of the opposition which saw a huge victory in the last general election and has now openly proclaimed Sarawak as its next target, to make the state the sixth Pakatan Rakyat-controlled state.

"Naturally Supp's efforts are focused on its battle in urban areas like Kuching, Sibu and Miri. However in the process, the party seems to pay little attention to the interests of the rural communities whose support is also equally critical to ensure its survival," Joseph said.

And reading through the lists of office-bearers of the party, the highest position occupied by a Dayak is the deputy secretary-general II position held by Francis Harden, who is also the state assemblyperson for Simanggang.

"But what about roles to be played by three other Dayak elected representatives - the MP for Serian Richard Riot, assemblyperson for Opar Ranum Mina and Dr Jerip Susil, the state representative for Bengoh?" he asked.