PKR to protest to MoH over summons issued during campaign

Dr Teo (centre) with (from left) Dennis, Roland, Zulhaidah and Elias at the press conference in Miri MP Service Centre.

MIRI (Dec 23): Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak leadership will write to the Ministry of Health (MoH) to revoke a no permit summons issued by police during the election campaign period at a longhouse in Lambir constituency, said Miri MP Dr Michael Teo.

He said this was wrong as the party campaigners had complied with the SOP of crowd control and did not use loudspeakers at the event at Rumah Jonathan in Bukit Peninjau where PKR candidate Zulhaidah Suboh was contesting.

The seat was won by incumbent Dr Ripin Lamat of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

Dr Teo said issuance of summons of RM1,000 was tantamount to harassment of the Opposition party and intimidation of longhouses from accepting them.

“Keadilan (PKR) state leadership council will write a letter to the ministry as no permit is needed for small group campaign in longhouses with poor or no internet coverage,” he stressed in a press conference at his service centre yesterday.

Also present were Zulhaidah, PKR candidate for Mulu Roland Engan, Elias Lipi (Marudi) and PKR Baram publicity chief Dennis Along.

On a related matter, Dr Teo accused the GPS of weaponising the state’s autonomy in immigration under Malaysia Agreement 1963 to bar Opposition leaders from entering the state to campaign in the recently concluded state election, saying this happened in every past elections.

Incumbent Mulu assemblyman Dato Gerawat Gala garnered 3,721 votes to win by a landslide against Dr Son Radu of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (856 votes), Roland (810 votes) and Dr Richard Ibuh of Parti Bumi Kenyalang (199 votes) in this rural constituency stretching from Marudi to Bario on December 18.

Roland, who is Baram PKR chief, accepted the results and decision made by the constituents, saying split Opposition votes, supporters’ confusion, grassroots election machinery and huge state government aid during Covid-19 pandemic tilted the election heavily towards the GPS.

“The disheartening results showed PKR was rejected by the majority of voters in Baram in this election but to me this was due to a lot of factors which contributed to the poor results.

“We ran out of time to explain issue of perceived lack of progress in the 22-month rule of Pakatan Harapan (PH) which also weighed heavily on PKR in Baram, forgetting that their MP Anyi Ngau was in the Opposition when PH was in government.

“Voters inevitably compared PH with the GPS with its impressive track record paraded by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi (Tan Sri) Abang Johari Tun Openg.”

Confusion among supporters, split Opposition votes and even sabotaged machinery in Baram were among the factors of the heavy defeat of PKR in Mulu, Telang Usan and Marudi seats, he added.

The exodus of the party’s former heavyweights and ‘fighters’ such as Baru Bian to Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) also affected them.

“To some, PSB and PKR are the same, and there were some last minute swing where even our election machinery was used by others,” he mused.

He added that GPS and PSB combined to gun down PKR, and this resulted in the poor results as locals bought the narrative that even opposition parties should be Sarawak-based.

Meanwhile, Dr Teo said PKR Sarawak will put the defeats behind and soldier on despite the heavy setback and prepare for the coming general election, saying he is already making preparations to defend his seat.

from Borneo Post Online https://ift.tt/30QsJRh
via IFTTT