Ang Ngan Toh
Malaysiakini
May 20, 11

The Sarawak DAP has called on the police to issue immediately permits to allow the people of the state to hold street demonstrations to force long-serving Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud to step down.

“They have their constitutional right to stage peaceful street demonstrations and the police should not stop them,” Sarawak DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen said yesterday.

Peaceful street demonstrations should be allowed, he said, adding that DAP would consider joining the protesters if the police issued the permits allowing the people to assemble in the streets.

“We fully support the plans of the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) to hold peaceful street demonstrations to force Taib to step down,” the Bandar Kuching MP said.

Chong, who is also Kota Sentosa assemblyperson, said Taib and the BN have suffered the worst setback in the April 16 state election, losing 16 seats to the opposition.

“The BN’s share of the popular vote in the election has also declined by eight percent to 55 percent, while the opposition’s share rose to 45 percent.

“This means that only 55 percent of the voters supported Taib and his BN while the other 45 percent rejected them.

“Normally, under such circumstances, a leader would have to take responsibility for the setback by resigning from his position,” Chong said.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the BN could no longer consider Sarawak its “fixed deposit” state and therefore, “the call by MoCS for Taib to resign by Aug 13 is fair and just”.

‘Ridiculous to lodge police reports’Chong said it was ridiculous of the Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) Youth members to lodge police reports against MoCS leader Francis Siah, who is leading the move to pressure Taib to leave office through the street protests.

“It is out of line and insane to lodge the reports against MoCS, which wants to hold peaceful demonstrations,” he said of the three police reports lodged by PBB Youth last Tuesday.

The reports were lodged in Kota Samarahan, Bintulu and in Kuching

PBB Youth exco member Wan Hamza Wan Paie, who lodged the report in Kuching, wants the police to place Siah under house arrest so that he would not be able to organise the street protests.

He said he had heard that Siah (above, left) wanted to bring in large numbers of people from outside Sarawak to take part in the protest.

Wan Hamza also accused Siah of getting funds from non-governmental organisations in the West to hold the street demonstrations.

Undaunted by police reports and calls for his arrest, Siah said he would not relent in his demand for Taib’s resignation.

“I am more determined than ever. The show will go on,” he said in a text message to friends who asked him what his next step would be, following PBB Youth’s demand that he be placed under house arrest.

Siah aims to mobilise some 200,000 people to hold peaceful demonstrations in various parts of Sarawak to force the ageing Taib, who has also been accused of corruption, to relinquish power.