For the past week, Sibu was on the lips of every Malaysian, igniting excitement and rekindling new hopes among Sarawakians and Malaysians that Sarawak and Malaysia are capable of far-reaching political changes in the near future.
The hard-fought DAP and Pakatan Rakyat victory in Sibu, where we turned around the 40%-60% odds on Nomination Day in the eight-day campaign to achieve a miraculous victory, has given to Sarawakians and Malaysians a glimpse of the possibility of New Politics and the replacement of the Barisan Nasional governments in Petrajaya and Putrajaya with Pakatan Rakyat governments in the next 12 to 24 months.
The seismic Sibu by-election victory, akin to a Sibu Miracle, has brought with it great challenges and responsibilities to the Sarawak DAP state leadership.
Forget about “rest” until the two great battles of the next Sarawak state general elections and the 13th General Elections are over.
The DAP Sarawak state committee, which must from today plan and work to build on the political momentum created by the Sibu victory, has three immediate challenges:
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To fully harness the political advances made in Sibu in the by-election by widening our support base, in particular enlisting young, idealistic and like-minded Ibans and Melanau/Melayu to join the DAP cause;
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To strengthen and expand the DAP organisation and political presence in Sarawak; and
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To forge and project a strong Pakatan Rakyat profile and presence in Sarawak.
The Sibu by-election victory does not belong to DAP alone. It is the victory of the great people of Sibu. It is also the victory of Pakatan Rakyat Sarawak as Ho Leng is the first PR candidature in Sarawak, with PKR, PAS and SNAP leaders working closely hand-in-hand with DAP to create the first PR Sarawak victory in history.
The forthcoming session of Parliament will be Sibu, Sarawak and even Sabah session as the Sibu by-election result serves notice to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that Sarawak and Sabah can no longer be regarded as “deposit states” – and Sarawakians and Sabahans are fully entitled to demand fair and just treatment of their rights as equal citizens of Malaysians 47 years after the formation of Malaysia.
As I said in my two tweets this morning:
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#Sibu Miracle 2Parliament @wongholeng will lead DAP Parl policy debate on 10th Msia Plan begin on 14//6 2highlight triple meaning of #P212
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#Sibu speaks 4all @wongholeng bring Voice of Sibu loud n clear 2Parl on frustrations nightmare hopes dream of Sibu/Swak/Msia Sibu stands tall
In his maiden speech in Parliament, Ho Leng will speak not just for Sibu or Sarawak but for all Malaysia.
In fact, Ho Leng was at work as MP for Sibu within 12 hours of the announcement of his election before he could catch his breath to get some rest from the hectic by-election campaigning.
This was because the very next day of 516 – which has joined 308 as symbolic milestones in Malaysians’ struggle for change – was the last day for MPs to submit questions for the June meeting of Parliament.
Ho Leng had put in questions close to the heart of Sibuans, Sarawakians and Malaysians.
I have also put in questions highlighting the need for the Barisan Nasional government, whether national or state, to redress many of the long-standing grievances of Sarawakians and Sabahans since the formation of Malaysia 47 years ago.
This is why two questions I am asking the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak next month are:
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To ask the Prime Minister whether he would set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry on the broken promises to Sabah and Sarawak on the formation of Malaysia in 1963, in particular just and equitable development of the people from the two rich states.
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to give the amounts of Federal allocations to Sarawak for each year since 1963, giving a breakdown of their uses.
I will visit Sabah next week and will discuss the parliamentary questions I have submitted highlighting why Sabahans are so aggrieved about the present political system which have made them feel that they are strangers in their own homeland.
[Speech at the post-Sibu by-election meeting of the Sarawak DAP State Committee in Sibu on Sunday 23rd May 2010]