SHOULD WE STILL TRUST SUPP IN PROTECTING OUR RIGHTS?

SUPP concept of multiracialism has changed greatly after the Party joined the state government on the morning of Tuesday July 7, 1970. The Party did not hold true to their struggle of multiracialism since early 1960s which saw strong Dayak leaders like Jonathan Banggu and Charles Linang leaving the Party. Now, SUPP claims to protect the rights of the Chinese community, but, the question is can we still trust them after many of the chinese rights had been systematically eroded by the BN government? I am not here a racist and in politics I had fought for a fair Malaysia for all races irrespective of creed and colour. I posed that question because of the stand taken by SUPP leaders in things they did in the past seems only to the direction of protecting chinese rights and chinese community. They even claimed that only through SUPP chinese rights could be better protected where development and prosperity could be better guaranteed. However, my humble observation over the years is that the Chinese Ministers in SUPP, their YBs and those close to them became richer and richer, while the common people were crying for milk and found life difficult at ends.

The Chinese community should realise that SUPP is no more a progressive party in protecting the rights of the community. For example, during British colonial time, Kuching had five chinese schools, that is, CHPS No.1-5, but we only got one more in 1996 and until now no more. This is disgraceful and with the growing chinese population in the city, SUPP being in the government should be able to fight more for the community, but, what had they done? People in Tabuan Jaya/Stutong/BDC area had been looking forward for a chinese school to be built, but, until now we still could not see one.

We also need roads in the mandarin languange and the use of the language in the public announcement system of the Kuching International Airport to attact more chinese tourists from China and from other chinese speaking countries to boost local business and tourism. but, It seems that SUPP was not playing a proactive role in promoting the language for the good of the economy of the State. How can we expect people from China, Taiwan, HongKong and Singapore visit Malaysia, especially, Sarawak, when they could not understand the language use upon arrival to plan their travel and stay here?

In the field of economy, there should no more such thing as Never Ending Policy of NEP which also did not benefit the majority poor bumiputera. It benefited those bumputera politicians and their cronies in the corridors of powers. The poor malays and dayaks did not properly benefitted from the NEP. What we could hear is Mahathir's son became millionaire and Taib's son enjoys much better life while many in the kampungs still have to work from dawn to dust.

Posted by VOON LEE SHAN