In the absence of "Ruai" (longhouse verandah) or Rumah Dayak in a city like Kuching, coffee shops have now become meeting places among the Dayaks to discuss issues particularly affecting the community.
Often seen at the “meetings” were pensioners, lawyers, doctors, businessmen and politicians. Sometimes civil servants including lecturers and teachers join the group during weekends and public holidays.
Two coffee shops in BDC Stampin, Kuching are the usual haunts which act more or less like a mini-parliament. In the morning they usually gather at A-One coffee shop with newspapers lying in front of them. The topics of the day will be centred on issues that appear in the morning’s papers especially issues of interests to the Dayaks. Divergent views are expressed. And the “debates” may last up to 12 noon when they go back for lunch.
In the afternoon session, they usually gather at Ah Leong from 5.00 pm and may last till 10.00 pm or even beyond.
Although they come from various shades of political and religious beliefs and from various Divisions, they listen to each other’s views with tolerance and patience. Their “professionalism” makes our debates in Council Negeri and Parliament pale in comparison.
Many of the things discussed are a reflection of true ground situation. For instance, their discussions on NCR land being grabbed by big companies and cronies of powers-that-be, the destroying of longhouses and fruit trees, the blockades, the arrests of NCR landowners, and political issues including the invasion by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to Sarawak’s rural areas, the weaknesses of Dayak leaders, the bullying tactics of Parti Bersatu Bumiputra (PBB) on weaker BN component parties, etc.
Perhaps out of curiosity one day one minister from PBB anxious to find out sent “spies” to these coffee shops to find out who are these people and he was surprised to see in the list the names of those who have held high offices in the government and in the corporate world.
Nothing much can he do, but he knows that these former civil servants who had served the government are turning against them and are crying for change. As pensioners, they have great influence over their relatives and friends in longhouses.
Coffee-shops politics as they are usually known have also become a common trend in Sarawak towns and cities where everyone shares his knowledge and exchanges his information with others and their views have influenced others leading to the electoral victories or defeats of candidates. It was because of this coffee-shop politics that Barisan Nasional lost its two-third majority in Parliament, failed to dislodge PAS in Kelantan and worst still lost four States to Pakatan Rakyat in the March 2008 elections.
Can coffee-shop politics bring change to Sarawak? - The Broken Shield
Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com
Often seen at the “meetings” were pensioners, lawyers, doctors, businessmen and politicians. Sometimes civil servants including lecturers and teachers join the group during weekends and public holidays.
Two coffee shops in BDC Stampin, Kuching are the usual haunts which act more or less like a mini-parliament. In the morning they usually gather at A-One coffee shop with newspapers lying in front of them. The topics of the day will be centred on issues that appear in the morning’s papers especially issues of interests to the Dayaks. Divergent views are expressed. And the “debates” may last up to 12 noon when they go back for lunch.
In the afternoon session, they usually gather at Ah Leong from 5.00 pm and may last till 10.00 pm or even beyond.
Although they come from various shades of political and religious beliefs and from various Divisions, they listen to each other’s views with tolerance and patience. Their “professionalism” makes our debates in Council Negeri and Parliament pale in comparison.
Many of the things discussed are a reflection of true ground situation. For instance, their discussions on NCR land being grabbed by big companies and cronies of powers-that-be, the destroying of longhouses and fruit trees, the blockades, the arrests of NCR landowners, and political issues including the invasion by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to Sarawak’s rural areas, the weaknesses of Dayak leaders, the bullying tactics of Parti Bersatu Bumiputra (PBB) on weaker BN component parties, etc.
Perhaps out of curiosity one day one minister from PBB anxious to find out sent “spies” to these coffee shops to find out who are these people and he was surprised to see in the list the names of those who have held high offices in the government and in the corporate world.
Nothing much can he do, but he knows that these former civil servants who had served the government are turning against them and are crying for change. As pensioners, they have great influence over their relatives and friends in longhouses.
Coffee-shops politics as they are usually known have also become a common trend in Sarawak towns and cities where everyone shares his knowledge and exchanges his information with others and their views have influenced others leading to the electoral victories or defeats of candidates. It was because of this coffee-shop politics that Barisan Nasional lost its two-third majority in Parliament, failed to dislodge PAS in Kelantan and worst still lost four States to Pakatan Rakyat in the March 2008 elections.
Can coffee-shop politics bring change to Sarawak? - The Broken Shield
Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com
