KUCHING, Jan 16 — DAP Sarawak will not set up a specific wing for those aged between 18 to 28 but instead will involve more youths in its state committee, said its chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
He pointed out getting more youth participation is among the main task of the new DAP state committee to regain and win back the trust and confidence of the people on the party.
“Unlike the other parties which have announced that they will set up a youth wing as a subsidiary body catering to those between 18-28 years of age, we shall invite more in this age group to be in the state committee, empowering them to make decision state-wide.
“In DAP, the youths will not be merely a subsidiary or secondary group, but will be in the highest decision-making body, that is the DAP Sarawak state committee.
“In fact, DAP Sarawak still holds the record of being the youngest in average age of the highest decision-making committees amongst all political parties in Sarawak. This is what associates DAP with the youths,” he said at the opening of DAP Sarawak Ordinary Convention 2022 today.
Chong, who is also Padungan assemblyman and Stampin MP, was referring to recent news reports of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) components planning to set up new wings for members in the 18 to 28 age group following the implementation of Undi18 which lowers the voting age for Malaysians from 21 to 18.
Chong also said DAP Sarawak suffered a huge defeat in the Sarawak state election last Dec 18 by only managing to win only two seats out of the 26 contested, which included failing to defend five of the seats won in 2016.
Despite so, he said DAP must move forward by continuing to serve the people and step up its publicity apart from getting more youth participation.
“We do not vanish after the election. Our leaders continue to be available and can be contacted by the people round the year. That is the hallmark of DAP and that is something that all of us members of DAP should be proud of,” he said.
He also said the leaders of DAP Sarawak must advance and adapt with times when it comes to publicity.
While issuing press statements is still an important part of publicity, Chong said one cannot deny the increasing importance of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube in publicity work.
“In politics, it is not only the content of the communication which is important, but also equally important is whether such content can effectively reach the people.
Therefore, our publicity and method of communication must either adapt and evolved or we become obsolete and extinct,” he said.
Looking back at the 2021 state election performance, Chong said it was undeniably the low voters’ turnout and vote splitting amongst the Opposition have directly resulted in the loss of DAP’s five incumbent constituencies namely Kota Sentosa, Bukit Assek, Pelawan, Tanjung Batu and Pujut.
He pointed out the combined votes of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) and Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) were a lot more than the majorities won by GPS over DAP candidates in those constituencies:
“These Opposition parties could be genuine Opposition parties. They could also be the strategy of the GPS to split our votes. Time will reveal the truth,” he said.
He also stressed on the urgent responsibility of the new DAP State Committee to rebuild the people’s confidence and hope to usher into the next general election which constitutionally must be held within the next 18 months.
DAP currently holds six out of the 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak. They are namely Mas Gading, Bandar Kuching, Stampin, Sarikei, Lanang and Sibu.
“If we could do it the first time, there is no reason why we cannot do it the second time. Yes, the Pakatan Harapan government had lasted only for 22 months. This is mainly because of the clash in personalities among a few of the PH leaders and driven by the long-entrenched racism and corruption within the system.
“But this 22-month government has led to the breakup of the Umno hegemony. In times to come, should there be a new government after the 15th General Election, I am confident that the new coalition government will be in a better position to serve its full five-year term,” he said.
He also advised those who aspire to contest as DAP candidates in the next state elections to “Don’t wait, start work(ing) now”.
As a word of encouragement, he used the performance of Barisan Nasional under Tun Abdullah Badawi as an example where BN won 90 per cent of the parliamentary seats in 2004 but lost the two third majority in parliament four years later.
“Though we DAP have been reduced to two ADUNs (assemblypersons) in DUN State Legislative Assembly, we promise that the two of us, (Pending assemblywoman) Violet Yong and I (as Padungan assemblyman), will work extra hard to be the eyes and the ears and the voices of the people in DUN.
“To all our members, let us come together in this long-haul political struggle for a better Malaysia and a better Sarawak,” he said. — Borneo Post
