KUCHING: It is unjust to evaluate the performance of Dayak ministers and deputy ministers based on a survey with just over 180 respondents, says Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Henry Harry Jinep.
The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) deputy president said the government uses a standardised method to assess the performance of its ministers and deputy ministers, namely through their key performance indicators (KPIs).
“As a learned person, you cannot have an en bloc conclusion just by asking the opinions of some 180 people,” he said to Sarawak Tribune.
He was responding to academician Datuk Prof Dr Jayum Jawan’s research methodology, which aimed to gauge the effectiveness of Dayak leaders in the government.
Henry, who serves as Tasik Biru assemblyman, explained that in Sarawak, the KPI evaluations for ministers and deputy ministers are conducted by the Sarawak Implementation Monitoring Unit.
He further clarified that each minister and deputy minister is assigned specific tasks upon their appointment, and some of these responsibilities are confidential and not meant to be disclosed to the public.
“Therefore, it is important for the public to understand that generalising the performance of ministers and deputy ministers based on the opinions of a small sample size is unfair,” he added.
Henry acknowledged that voters scrutinise state ministers and deputy ministers as elected representatives, but he argued that making sweeping judgments based on a limited survey is still unjust.
Jayum, who is a Fellow and Member of the National Unity Advisory Council (MPPN), recently released the results of an online survey assessing Dayak netizens’ views on Dayak leaders in the Madani and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) governments.
The survey, which evaluated the performance of 18 Sarawak Dayak ministers and deputy ministers, revealed that only three received ‘passing’ approval ratings of 50 per cent or higher, while the rest were rated poorly.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi received the highest approval at 65 per cent, followed by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas (55 per cent) and Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom (50 per cent).
The lowest ratings were for National Unity Minister, Datuk Aaron Aro Dagang (35 per cent) and Minister in the Premier’s Department Datuk Seri John Sikie Tayai (38 per cent).
Among deputy ministers, Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu and Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Dr Penguang Manggil scored the highest at 46 per cent, while Infrastructure and Port Development Deputy Minister Datuk Majang Renggi and Martin Ben received the lowest at 36 per cent.
