CM should know BN’s strength is within, not outside

OUTSPOKEN: Chief Minister Adenan Satem must be told the truth, and the truth is that the state Barisan Nasional (BN) must be strengthened at all cost – even at the expense of the friendly parties.

The state BN’s strength is within; not outside. Its strength is in the four component parties of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).

Any other parties are either a liability or in direct opposition to the coalition which Adenan is leading.

Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) and United People’s Party (UPP) are a liability to the state BN. They are the cause of ill-feelings and suspicion among component parties in the coalition. Their preaching and rantings are driving a wedge between the people and parties like SPDP and SUPP.

The state BN chairman must know that Teras weakening SPDP is weakening the BN and UPP running down SUPP is running down the BN.

But SPDP declaring war against Teras is BN on a warpath; or SUPP all out to neutralise UPP is meting out natural justice to an enemy that pretends it is a friend but in reality, a wolf in sheepskin.

A weak SPDP and a weak SUPP, because their seats are being taken by wolves in sheepskin, can only mean an undermined and much weaker BN.

PRS president Dr James Masing should be commended for standing by SPDP and SUPP in their relentless defence of their respective right to their traditional seats.

That he dares to make a stand in the interest of the BN shows that he can appreciate the fact that the real strength of the ruling coalition lies in the fortified strength of all four component parties.

He knows that a strong SPDP in Pakan and Meluan, for example, will give added strength to PRS in the parliamentary seat of Julau.

For that to happen, Masing will want to make sure that PRS in Julau will do some back-scratching as that is how one can get the other party to scratch your back when the time comes.

Did then SPDP president and Pakan incumbent William Mawan ever bothered with playing “I scratch your back, you scratch mine” with Julau MP Joseph Salang?

Or did he just not care? Or even wish that Salang lose in the last parliamentary election? Mawan has the answer to that; PRS knows too well the situation on the ground.

What is clear today is that Salang favours SPDP in Pakan. In fact, the PRS factor is stoically for SPDP in Pakan and Meluan, and in both seats Teras and Mawan are working in isolation.

The scenario is quite similar in Marudi where Sylvester Entri is fast known for what he really is – a failed assemblyman after 20 years in office – as supporters of Dr Penguang Manggil travel the length and breadth of the constituency to tell the people why the SPDP potential candidate is a better YB prospect.

The Dayaks, the Ibans in particular, have a way of telling things so as not to be too crass, disrespectful and impolite.

When folks feel you have overstayed your welcome, that you have been there for up to 20 years and you have no more new ideas to offer, or you have got enough to see you retiring in comfort, they have a nice way of telling why you should call it a day.

They don’t tell you to your face you have a bad reputation, but they say: “Gap amai nuan YB, lalu empai baka kelia – sigat, agi tau nganu” (You are handsome, YB, just like those days – macho, bitingly attractive).

But what they really mean is you are a crocodile and they worry for their wives and daughters.

Or if they don’t talk about you but instead talk about the new candidate prospective as someone “tau adat beburung, adat berantu, adat muai pemali enggau muai sial” (knowledgeable in art and customs of augury, of appeasing the souls of the dead, of cleansing taboos and getting rid of ill fortunes) they probably mean you are not the right person for the job.

Why you are not the right person, you should know, but one thing for sure is, the people have had enough of you pretending what you are not.

Or, if they say a project should have been completed, they don’t mean the delay but they believe the work done does not reflect the money spent. It’s really saying the value of the uncompleted job is hardly one-third of the allocation and you say you have run out of fund. They are saying you are pocketing what should have been spent on the project.

All this must be told to Adenan, and it must be told by people who have no personal interest in the seats or in the political parties involved.

Once the message seeps in, Adenan will then be able to make an informed decision.

That way, the interest of BN will be safeguarded against the narrow and selfish politics of unqualified individuals preaching BN principles when they are not even members of the coalition.

JIMMY ADIT is a by-product of journalism’s school of hard knocks. A has-been politikus, today he relishes life in the fringes of politics.

-The Ant Daily