SDNU TGA, what went wrong with it?

This morning (30 Jan 2010) I (uninvited) attended the 32nd triennial general assembly of Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) to listen to a speech of Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum at the Penview Hotel, Kuching.

Two things he mentioned very clearly.

(i) Don’t bring politics into the Union
(ii) What is your contribution to the Union?

Don’t bring politics to the union:
Salang said that the Union has never been involved in politics and it should be kept that way. Some of the members, he said, might be involved in politics, but that was their personal involvement.

“You cannot blame them for being in politics, although they may hold office as president, deputy president, secretary and committee members. And your political leaning is your own business. Some of us are in BN just like me; others are in the opposition.

“Why should people like me want to bring SDNU to BN and others to Opposition?” he asked and said: “We cannot force people to follow your parties.”

Salang added: “Whether you are in the opposition and I am in the BN, there is no reason why we cannot make the union as the centre of our cultural unity.”


Our contribution to SDNU:
Next Salang touched on the subject of members’ contributions to the union so that it can achieve a higher plane of success.

“I ask myself how much have I contributed or helped the union; and if all of us put our efforts collectively I am sure the union will do much to help the Dayak community.

“Our union is just like a bandong (a big boat). One person will not be able to paddle it, but if all of us paddle it, it will move where we want it to go.

“We must not question who is our captain or ‘juragan’ of the boat otherwise our boat will be stranded,” he stressed.

The Broken Shield’s Observation:
I notice few things were not right at this TGA. May be I see them through a reporter’s eyes. Firstly, there was an inadequate publicity in the papers, so not many Dayaks even in Kuching knew about it. (I was one of them). It is important that this type of meeting, the triennial general meeting, should be given ample publicity, unless of course you do not want other Dayaks to know. But I thought SDNU represent the Dayak community!

Secondly, there was a miscommunication between the deputy minister and the organisers. There was no proper invitation, according to Salang. He was informed to come at 9.30 a.m to open the meeting and when he arrived, nobody was there to welcome him, He was then invited to sit with us – me, Tajem and a few others at a coffeehouse.

Guests, delegates and observers should arrive at 8.30 a.m, and the president should arrive at 8.45 a.m. But the president arrived at 10.00 a.m. So the deputy minister was waiting for half an hour and I can see he was not happy as he mentioned during the speech that people used to complain “baka nganti menteri, tang sekalitu, kitai nganti president. Aku ukai nyindir president.”

Thirdly, the backdrop mentioned that Salang was “the Minister of Information, Communication and Culture.” Albert Anggie saw it and asked it to be corrected.

I am sure there were committee members who have been appointed to head certain sub-committees such as publicity sub-committee, welcoming sub-committee, food and drinks sub-committee, etc.

Although these are seemingly small things, they reflect badly on our community in organising any function. Something for all of us to ponder? – The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

Salang tells State leaders: Don’t divert federal allocation on infrastructure

MP Julau-cum-Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Joseph Salang has made it very clear to the State powers that be not to take away federal allocation for infrastructure development in Sarawak’s rural areas.

“The money must be rightly spent on such areas only. The implementing state agencies should follow the federal directives. There are reasons why the fund is specifically allocated to certain areas.

“The money should not be diverted else where,” he said when referring to RM4 billion federal allocation to upgrade infrastructure in the rural and interior regions of Sarawak and Sabah.

Salang’s warning is timely. Otherwise most of these monies will go to only SCORE areas, Mukah and Betong, thus other areas will be deprived of infrastructure development. It had happened in the past when allocation for the Simunjan/Punda Road was diverted to Kota Samarahan; allocation for a Pantu Secondary school was diverted to Betong. Many more had happened that you and I did not know.

Despite we are the richest State in the country with timber, oil and gas and land resources in plentiful, we are among the poorest in Malaysia. Why?

We know why Salang is so concerned about the federal fund being taken away, because at the moment the State government has no money. And we and Dayak leaders like Alfred Jabu, James Masing, and William Mawan should support Salang for daring to voice his concern rather than involved in the “sirat” issue.

A contractor friend of mine in Sarikei complained that the government owes him RM1 million, saying that the government has no money to pay him. Complaints of other contractors receiving no payment are also common.

Hotels will not receive service orders as a form of payment when civil servants go on travelling. Either cash or don’t stay in the hotels. That is the order from hotel managements.

According to my friend, the contractor, many will go bankrupt if the government does not pay for the completed projects: the contractor will go bankrupt, many of his workers who have houses and cars to pay will also go bankrupt and the hardware shoppers will also suffer.

So the question is: Why are we in this state of financial uncertainty and bankrupt? And where have the monies gone to? - The Broken Shield

Source: http://www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com/