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By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 24: Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) Youth urged parties not to manufacture political controversy and magnify an issue over its president Dato Sri Tiong King Sing’s presence at a programme in Johor, stressing that the matter did not exist in the first place as the engagement was purely part of his ministerial duties.
PDP Youth Central Committee deputy chief Yiak Chiong Wei said it was “astonishing” that the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Youth and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Youth had politicised what he described as a routine official engagement carried out by Tiong in his capacity as a federal Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
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“What should have been a straightforward discharge of ministerial duties has instead been deliberately twisted into a political controversy,” he said, adding that certain parties had attempted to mislead the public and magnify an issue that never existed.
In a statement posted on PDP’s social media today, Yiak again questioned the logic behind claims suggesting that accompanying the Prime Minister during official duties equated to supporting a political party.
“Since when did accompanying the Prime Minister in the course of performing one’s duties as a federal minister become synonymous with supporting a particular political party?” he asked.
He stressed that neither earlier statements nor media reports had ever suggested that Tiong attended the Johor programme on behalf of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), nor that GPS supported Pakatan Harapan (PH).
However, Yiak noted that SUPP Youth and PBB Youth had responded by repeatedly stressing that Tiong did not represent GPS, that GPS did not support PH, and that GPS was not involved in the Johor state election.
“If no one ever made such claims, then what exactly are they responding to?” he said, suggesting that some quarters were constructing narratives only to later refute them for political effect.
Yiak reiterated that Tiong was not representing any political party during the Johor engagement and did not participate in any partisan activity on behalf of GPS, adding that he did not wear party attire, display party symbols or issue political statements under any coalition banner.
If the logic advanced by these parties is that merely accompanying the Prime Minister while carrying out ministerial duties amounts to endorsing a political party, he asked if SUPP leaders holding federal appointments should also resign from their federal positions or refrain from attending federal meetings, ministerial programmes, allocation ceremonies and official visits in the future.
“Principles, if they are to mean anything at all, must be applied consistently. They cannot be used as a yardstick for others today, only to be conveniently forgotten when they affect one’s own side tomorrow,” he said.
Yiak also noted what he described as repeated statements issued whenever Tiong attended programmes in Sabah, Johor or alongside federal leadership, calling it an unnecessary pattern of politicisation.
He said greater attention should instead be directed towards issues affecting Sarawakians, including economic development, job creation, infrastructure, healthcare and education.
“Some continue to chant ‘Sarawak First’, but their actions increasingly resemble: SUPP First, Politics First, Publicity First,” he said.
PDP Youth urged those who have grown overly preoccupied with Tiong to redirect their attention towards the people of Sarawak.
“At the end of the day, Sarawakians want to know who is working for them, not who is best at putting on political antics,” Yiak added. — DayakDaily
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