PBDS not a failure as a political party, says Dr Masing

KANOWIT Oct 23 - Twice de-registered Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) has not been a failure as a political party, its former information chief Datuk Seri Dr James Masing said.

Dr Masing, who is Land Development Minister, said that as a vehicle which had struggled for Dayak interests, it had its share of achievements.

He added, however, it was not the only one helping the Dayaks.

"We have three others, namely, Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).

"Now, we have another one and the newest, Parti Rakyat Sarawak or PRS." he told Bernama Saturday.

Friday night Dr Masing attended a barbecue-cum-PRS recruitment campaign with his supporters here attended by more than 300 people.

He said it was wrong to assume that only PBDS alone was helping the Dayaks because of its name.

On its most notable achievements, Dr Masing said it succeeded in making the Dayaks "more politically conscious" and to realise that they alone could not do much in developing the state or the community.

He added: "We must do these together with others.

"PBDS too had also played a very important role in the spread of rural education and had even created a trust fund to help deserving Dayak students to further their education."

On the new party, Dr Masing said it would provide a lifeline for former PBDS members to play meaningful roles within Barisan Nasional.

"PRS will especially give its elected representatives the chance to continue with their political agenda for good of the community," he added.

Dr Masing, who was the first former PBDS member to join PRS, was expected to lead the party after its inaugural general assembly.

He said only time would tell if PRS would be a better alternative to PBDS.

"Our main objective, basically, is to continue with what we have been doing in PBDS," he added.

Dr Masing said his focus, if given the chance to lead the new party, would be to recruit as many interested former PBDS members, particularly the youths of Sarawak, to join it.

"If we look around, UMNO is very strong and successful Saturday because of the Puteri division," he said.

He also invited the other five elected PBDS representatives to join PRS or any other state BN component party so that they could continue to contribute to nationbuilding.

On efforts to try to revive PBDS, Dr Masing said it would be "quite a Herculean task", considering the fact that it had been "buried" twice.

He said it was former PBDS president, Datuk Seri Daniel Tajem's right to take the Registrae of Societies and the Home Affairs Ministry to court for de-registering PBDS.

"Lawyers tend to see political problems in different light. Tajem will have to bear whatever consequences as a result of his action," he added.

MEANWHILE, in KUCHING, PRS would hold its inaugural general meeting on Jan 8, next year, its pro tem president, Sidi Munan, said.

"The pro tem committee members today have decided on the date as it is believed that the feng-shui is good on that day," he told reporters jokingly after the pro tem committee meeting Saturday morning.

Speaking in a firmer tone, he said the party has to work fast as it only had two months to form enough divisions throughout the state before they could hold the meeting.

"We have started sending out forms to set up divisions throughout Sarawak," he added.

He expected the job to be completed within a month as PRS would derive members from former PBDS branches.

PRS must hold its first general meeting within three years of its registration approval by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) two days ago.

As of today (Saturday), the party has endorsed about 200 applications for membership, he said.

Sidi said the meeting also decided to set up a complaints and service bureau as the party's first project to deal with complaints or problems from the people in Kuching.

"We are not trying to settle their problems, just to provide help and, probably, refer their problems to the appropriate authority," he said.