Kuching: The DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) Sarawak has urged GPS leaders to prioritise Sarawak’s inclusive identity and avoid what it calls “unnecessary theatrics” following the withdrawal of the ‘Santubong Beer’ brand.
DAPSY Sarawak Committee Sylvester Lim Kai Bin said true leadership should not be about pandering to perceived or “imagined” offences, but about safeguarding the state’s long-standing values of harmony and tolerance.
“Wilfred Yap should stop using ‘respect’ as an excuse to erode Sarawak’s values of harmony and instead focus on the real issues affecting Sarawakians,” Lim said in a statement.
Lim argued that Sarawak has always stood proud as a land of tolerance and harmony, where Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and people of all faiths coexist without forcing their sensitivities onto one another.
“That is the Sarawakian way, which makes us different. Sadly, such a move by GPS politicians like Nancy Shukri and Wilfred Yap are now starting to import the very brand of divisive politics we said had no place here.
“This is precisely the slippery slope Sarawakians have always rejected. Today it is the name ‘Santubong Beer’. What is next? Will alcohol be banned in the entire Santubong area simply because it is a Muslim-majority constituency? Where do we draw the line?” he questioned.
Comment further, Lim questioned Wilfred Yap’s remarks, who justified the withdrawal because the name was “insensitive” to the Santubong community.
He argued that Yap’s stance not only misses the point but also exposes GPS’ dangerous slide into the same hypersensitive and polarised politics that we see in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Must I remind Wilfred Yap about the ‘Timah Whiskey’ incident a few years ago in Peninsular Malaysia? Back then, certain groups condemned the brand because they associated it with the Muslim faith and were offended by the picture on the label.
“It was an unreasonable request from the Muslim-majority community there, and many Sarawakians spoke out against this overreaction. Even Premier Abang Johari himself said such issues were “non-starters” in Sarawak, he said.
