Allow headmen to attend PH functions — Willie

KUCHING: The Sarawak government must reconsider its directive which discourages headmen ( ketua kaum) from attending functions of Pakatan Harapan ( PH) members of parliament and assemblymen, since the bulk of their monthly allowance are paid by the federal government.

Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin said discouraging community leaders from attending functions of PH elected representatives was not beneficial to the people because their MPs also gave them allocation.

“If the Sarawak government continues to discourage them from attending our functions, it is the people who are the victims.

“If you serve them well, there is no reason to be scared of us winning their (headmen) support,” he said.

Willie said the PH government had in fact never stopped paying their allowances.

The PH government, he added, had asked the Sarawak government to provide them the number of headmen to be paid; how many were appointed and how many were elected, but the Sarawak government never responded.

He said the allowance of the headmen in Sarawak in the first nine months of last year had been disbursed by the previous federal government to the Sarawak government before the 14th general election.

“Allocations that the Sarawak government received from October to December was a continuation for the year,” he said.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah recently said the Sarawak government had, on Dec 5, received an allocation of RM7.769 million from the federal government, for salaries for the headmen from October to December last year, which translated to RM500 per person.

There are about 5,000 individuals holding such posts (Tuai Rumah, Ketua Kaum and Kapitan) in Sarawak.

“Since their salary is RM900 each, the Sarawak government therefore has to make up the balance,” Uggah was quoted as saying.