KUCHING: Sarawakians living in Peninsular Malaysia have joined forces with their fellow citizens in Sarawak in urging Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud to step down sooner than later.
Movement For Change, Sarawak (MoCS) leader Francis Paul Siah said today that many Sarawakians living in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Baru want the chief minister to call it a day as soon as possible.
“I have met about 300 Sarawakians in these three cities over the past month and they all shared similar sentiments – Taib has overstayed his welcome as CM and he must go,” Siah said in a statement today.
“The Sarawakians I met comprise professionals, blue-collar workers and students. All of them are aware of political developments in their home state and are concerned about issues which have negatively affected Sarawak,” he said.
Siah, a veteran Sarawak editor, was also a Kuala Lumpur resident for the past 17 years. He moved back to his home town of Kuching recently to spearhead MoCS – an independent movement which aims to establish a new political culture in Sarawak.
MoCS has received tremendous response from Sarawakians in peninsula, said Siah, adding that the movement was attracting support and endorsement because it was an independent entity and not a political party.
Overused dilly-dallying tactic
On Taib’s statement on Tuesday that he could not decide for himself on when he should leave office as it was up to the party and the prime minister, Siah said that the chief minister should stop kidding himself and the people with that overused dilly-dallying tactic.
“Taib is PBB and he is bigger than PM Najib (Tun Razak) – everybody knows that. If he wants to step down, who in PBB or Najib dare to say ‘No’ to him. Even if the prime minister asks Taib to step down, it is not likely that he will obey Najib’s order. Taib is that powerful,” opined Siah.
He said Taib should take the feedback of MoCS seriously as it was the general consensus among the people of Sarawak that they wanted change in the state and that change should start at the top.
“There is no more reason for Taib to stay a minute longer as CM,” Siah added.
He said many Sarawakians were forced to leave the state for the peninsula because they find no future in their home state. One reason for this is the bad policies of the Taib administration.
Siah said that many Sarawakians in the peninsula told him that they were ready to return to Sarawak if there was something worthwhile for them to do in the state.
The 74-year-old Taib, who is the state's longest-serving chief minister (29 years since March 26, 1981), has been the target of extreme excesses in recent months. He is said to be under tremendous pressure, even from within the BN, to call it a day.- FMT
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