Among the promises frequently highlighted were the return of 20% oil royalty and the return of up to 50% of federal revenues collected from Sarawak. These promises helped win votes and political support from many Sarawakians who hoped that long-standing injustices would finally be addressed.
Yet today, many Sarawakians are still asking: where are those promises?
When these parties were given the opportunity to participate in the Federal Government, the promises that sounded so convincing during election campaigns became difficult to fulfil. To many Sarawakians, those promises now resemble election vouchers with an expiry date — valuable before polling day, forgotten afterwards.
Sarawakians have long memories. We remember not only what was promised, but also what was delivered.
For years, DAP Sarawak has built its political message around the call for change. But after almost twenty years, perhaps the question is no longer whether Sarawak needs change. The question is whether the opposition itself needs changing.
If an opposition can repeatedly criticise but cannot effectively advance Sarawak's interests when presented with the opportunity, then Sarawakians have every right to seek a new alternative.
Parti Bumi Kenyalang believes Sarawak deserves an opposition that is truly local, independent, and accountable only to the people of Sarawak — not to political headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Sarawak's future should be decided by Sarawakians, for Sarawakians. The time may have come not merely to change the government, but to change the opposition as well.