KUCHING: The departure of the late Cobbold John Lusoi will surely be felt by every leader and people in Sarawak.
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) Baru central region chairman Julius Enchana said that the demise of the party president was a huge loss for the party and the Dayak community.
“He is the backbone of PBDS since taking over the party’s leadership. We at PBDS Sibu branch and central region would like to express our condolences on his departure,” he said in a statement issued today.
Julius also said the late Cobbold was the person who recruited him into the party.
“Cobbold taught and guided me a lot in the political world and he was never absent from activities organised by our branch,” he said, adding that the deceased was known for his emphasis of the Dayak agenda in the party’s struggle.
Julius said the main focus of the struggle is to defend the Native Customary Rights (NCR) over land, a struggle he fought to the end of his life.
“Apart from that, he made no apologies in holding onto the Dayakism principle as emphasised by the late Datuk Seri Daniel Tajem, known for his, “We shall be general instead of foot soldiers, we can’t be a follower all the time.”
Julius spoke of Cobbold as an “open-minded individual always ready to listen to the views of party members”.
“Most of all, he always prioritised unanimous decisions.
“Therefore, I would urge that all party members to persevere and stay united in facing the challenges ahead. I believe Cobbold would want us to remain strong in his absence,” he stressed.
