BINTULU, June 11– Complacency, arrogance and dishonesty have no place in today’s politics, says Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
In this regard, he reminded all PDP members to always be aware of any changes in politics at both state and national levels, so as to remain relevant.
He said it was ‘easy to be too comfortable with the status quo’ in view of PDP being a component party under the state’s ruling coalition Gabungan parti Sarawak (GPS).
“Many of us are very comfortable because we (GPS) are still leading the Sarawak state government, and are still with the federal government.
“Such complacency is very dangerous to the party,” said the federal Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture at the opening of PDP’s Triennial General Assembly (TGA) 2023 at Dinner World Restaurant here today, where Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg officiated at the event.
Adding on, Tiong also observed that there were some who had become complacent in the government positions to which they had been appointed.
“And there are some who would stoop so low to become backstabbers, and to sow seeds meant to create internal strife simply to jostle for positions inside government agencies, GLCs (government-linked companies), and the like.
“These actions would definitely destroy you. The people out there would surely see ‘the real us’. It handily gives the people an outlet to rate and evaluate the behaviours of their leaders,” said the Bintulu MP, adding that such bad attributes would reflect poorly not just on the individual leader, but on the party as well.
“Let us wait and see in the upcoming elections, whether the candidates who act out of turn would be retained or not.”
Tiong said stressed about the importance of respecting and tolerating one another in the spirit of fair power-sharing.
“PDP hopes that this principle of power-sharing would not only be preserved, but also to be practised fairly and equitably for the common good, because in a coalition, the (component) parties complement one another.
“What it means by power-sharing? It’s sharing our trust and our responsibilities; sharing strengths and weaknesses; sharing our victories and defeats.
“We need to be stronger than we were before. Things are getting tougher day by day. Politics are getting more unique than what it was before.”
Tiong also expressed hope for the coalition’s top leadership would always listen to ‘the expressions of the heart’ and criticisms from party members at grassroots level, for the common good of the partnership.
“What we need now is togetherness, and unity among us. Don’t be the person that brings ruin to the party. Do not be the treacherous two-faced snake in the grass.
“We need leaders with big hearts who could take this alliance as a part of a whole, towards ensuring that the best services could be delivered to all Sarawakians.”
Tiong also criticised several members within the coalition ‘who had not learned the lessons’ from the 15th general election (GE15) last year.
“There is no longer a thing such as a dominant party in national politics — any politician can collapse at the ballot box.
“Now, PDP is one of the 19 political parties that make up the ‘Unity Government’; thus, it is our responsibility to defend this coalition, at least until GE16.
“At the same time, we should also learn from the failure of any cooperation of previous political parties, so as to ensure that this would not happen in the Unity Government today.”
On the subject of young voters, Tiong regarded it as ‘still a huge topic, begging further studies and understanding’ by those wishing to remain relevant in current politics.
“We need to study the political behaviours of the young segment of society.
“We need to understand their perspectives, especially in the way they comment on and evaluate our leaders.”
