Barisan Nasional’s secret weapon

It is reported in The Borneo Post dated 19 December that Deputy President of PBB and Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu anak Numpang has been quoted as saying that village and longhouse headmen can be relieved of their positions if they do not do their job responsibly.

They should therefore be efficient and active, and knowledgeable about their village and longhouse dwellers such as their education level, economic status, jobs and number of families.

“The district office or resident’s office has the right to sack leaders whom people feel failed to carry out their responsibilities,” he said when launching the ‘State Community Leaders Development and Leadership Seminar 2010’ at Sri Aman Civic Centre on Thursday.

A total of 498 community leaders attended the seminar.

Jabu told the community leaders not to entertain opposition members during the coming state election.

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For the past three months or so, more than 5,000 Tuai Rumah and other community leaders have been ‘indoctrinated’ with the Barisan Nasional’s politics, the latest one held in Sri Aman. Kuching, Mukah, Miri dan Sibu have organised the seminar. Tuai Rumah from other divisions and district will attend the seminar for the next two months.

We are given to understand that what the community leaders were told was to hate the Opposition politicians, to bar them from going into their longhouses and to keep watch over their followers so that they would not support the Opposition.

Those found to be supportive of the opposition, the Tuai Rumah has the power to ‘sack’ them from the longhouse and has also the power not to give them ‘shares’ in development projects or in ‘corruption money’. This had been effectively used in previous elections and it is certain such dirty tactics will be used again in the coming election.

The effects are many: one is that not all the people in a longhouse support the BN and the Tuai Rumah and this may lead up to deeper disunity and hatred against the BN and the Tuai Rumah. Some may break away from the longhouse.

Regrettably, there are ex-senior civil servants, ex-Police officers and retired teachers who have been appointed Tuai Rumah. During their days as civil servants and teachers, they know that this BN government has taken away their fathers’ NCR land and given to crony companies; they know that their own children were deprived of scholarships, places in universities and refused to entry to the civil service or deprived of promotions. Many of their children find their ways to Johor, Singapore, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and overseas. Why? No job opportunities.

And yet because of the initials ‘TR’ and the RM450 allowance per month, they are willingly accepted their appointment. Where is their conscience, if there is any left?

Now, they have not only betrayed their forefathers, parents, brothers, sisters and their own children and their children’s children, they have also now become the secret weapon of the Barisan Nasional to further suppress and oppress the already down-trodden Dayaks – Dayak Ibans, Dayak Bidayuhs, Dayak Kayans, Dayak Kenyahs and the Dayak Penans, and etc. – The Broken Shield.