Sunday May 12, 2013

Confusion among Baram folk

By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my

Victory tea: Dennis (centre) toasting Barisan's victory in Baram yesterday.

MIRI: There is a lot of damage control to be done by Barisan Nasional in the Orang Ulu heartland of Baram, to clear up confusion among the people in the vast constituency following a bitter battle during last Sunday’s 13th general election.

Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau, who was the Barisan deputy election director for Baram during the polls, yesterday held a closed door meeting with leaders from the minority Orang Ulu ethnic groups to discuss issues that had surfaced during the polls.

Barisan’s Anyi Ngau was locked in a three-cornered fight with PKR’s Roland Engan and independent candidate Patrick Sibat Sujang. Anyi won by a very slim majority of 184 votes.

Dennis told The Star after the meeting that there was a need for Barisan to clear the air over many issues that had been widely publicised by the Opposition during their ceramah at longhouses and riverine settlements during the campaign period.

“We had a meeting to look at the various issues raised during the elections which we found had resulted in a lot of confusion among the people of Baram.

“Many of the sensitive issues raised by the Opposition had created more controversies among the people. I don’t want to elaborate on these sensitive issues yet because we are still trying to resolve them.

“All I can say today is that the Opposition had instigated the people emotionally using these issues and now we in Barisan must undo the damage and try to clear up these confusions,” he said.

“We don’t want the people of Baram to continue harbouring misconceptions and mistrust against the Barisan government. We want to counter the allegations by the Opposition and explain to them Barisan’s side of the story.

“Baram now has a new MP and there is a need for us in every Barisan component party — PBB, SPDP, PRS and SUPP — to help him garner the support of the Baram people,” he said after chairing the meeting with the three dozen community chiefs from longhouses and ethnic associations.

Dennis said he could not disclose the exact details of the meeting because some of the matters discussed were confidential and sensitive in nature.

However, he said that in general, Barisan was worried that the fierce attack by the Opposition had created many rifts among Baram folk.

“All I can say is that we in Baram faced unprecedented aggressive attacks by the Opposition on all fronts. Barisan must carry out new rounds of dialogues and meetings with interior folk to reconnect with them,” he stressed.

News

Sunday May 12, 2013

Confusion among Baram folk

By STEPHEN THEN stephenthen@thestar.com.my

By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my