KUCHING: The Sarawak Patriot Association (SPA) always advocates that the head of federal departments in Sarawak be held by Sarawakians, said its president Datuk Dr John Lau Pang Heng.
He said this when commenting on Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan’s statement that Sarawak should restore its Constabulary and make the Sarawak police force limited to Sarawakians.
“This is in line with the objectives of SPA in the pursuit for rights and privileges of Sarawak.
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“It is true that Sarawak Police Commissioner has always been held by Malayan police officers, except on two occasions.
“Many have been asking, are our Sarawak police officers not competent to serve as Police Commissioner in Sarawak?
“We have many senior police officers, like our current Deputy Commissioner of Police Sarawak, Datuk Mancha Ata. He has all the qualifications and skills to head the Sarawak Police contingent,” he told New Sarawak Tribune on Sunday (March 27).
He also said that local Sarawakians were well-versed with the culture and practices much better than those from outside Sarawak and it was much faster and quicker for them to connect with the locals.
“It is also cost-friendly as there are no flight charges to transfer personnel from outside Sarawak to Kuching, also in terms of logistics and economics.
“Such cost-saving exercise will allow more funds to repair some police living quarters that require urgent repair.
“Not only Police Commissioner in Sarawak is held by officers from outside Sarawak, but some of the Section heads are also officers from outside Sarawak.
“To the best of SPA knowledge, the crime prevention and community safety department in Sarawak, since its establishment, has always been held by officers from outside Sarawak; though Sarawak officers have been appointed to act as head of crime prevention and community safety in the past,” he added.
Lau urged Bukit Aman to give equal opportunities to officers from Sarawak to attend competency-based training so that the officers can acquire skills and knowledge to take up positions of more responsibility.
“SPA prays that the authority can have more authority to demand Putra Jaya to allow Sarawakians to serve as head of Federal Departments in Sarawak.
“We are also aware that the Director of Immigration Sarawak in the past years was held by Sarawakians and it is in line with the MA63 terms and conditions to exercise immigration control,” he said.
Lau extended his congratulatory wishes to the Sarawak Police force for doing an excellent job of working with the community in crime prevention.
“Sarawak crime rate is among the lowest in Malaysia and for that, SPA is thankful to the police for keeping Sarawak safe, peaceful and secure,” he said.
