ELECTION TALK: Shout, moan or whine as you like. Press the panic button if you want. Raise the alarm bell if you think it is necessary. But all these will not stop Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) from ruling the state with a simple majority after the 11th state election.
And why should PBB not seize the opportunity to expand its political clout if given the chance? Why must it be stuck in its rut of being a minority party if it could rise up to be a majority party?
There is no written rule that a component party of the BN coalition cannot increase its number of seats if it is given the chance to do so. Certainly, it would be naive to think that PBB will miss the opportunity if fortune comes knocking on its door.
Presently, PBB has 40 seats out of the 82 seats in the state legislative assembly. Due to strong rural support towards the Barisan Nasional (BN), all its 40 candidates are expected to sail through.
PBB needs only another two seats to command a simple majority in the state legislative assembly and it seems the state's political climate at this time might allow it the chance to do so. Political observers believe PBB might be able to increase its seats by between two and four after the election.
The full list of BN direct candidates has yet to be announced by Chief Minister Adenan Satem. However, this state election will witness at least a dozen BN direct candidates, with Dayak candidates taking about eight of them.
The direct candidates have been told by the chief minister to declare themselves partyless before signing the BN loyalty pledge. After winning the election, they will be given six months to decide which of the four existing component parties – PBB, PRS, SPDP and SUPP – they want to join.
For the Dayak direct candidates, they are pampered with choice while for the Chinese direct candidates, their choice is limited to choosing between SUPP and SPDP.
Presently, Pesaka, the Dayak wing of PBB has only 11 seats while Bumiputera, the Malay/Melanau wing of the party, has 29. This means that there is still plenty of room in Pesaka to accommodate the Dayak candidates who win on a BN direct ticket.
Last month, PRS president James Masing raised the alarm bells that PBB might rule the state with a simple majority after the election.
Other weaker component parties, he said, would lose their voice and relevance in the state legislative assembly. He also suggested that in the spirit of the BN coalition, PBB must refrain from taking in any newly elected BN direct representatives.
Well, in theory a majority party can choose its own cabinet, make arbitrariy decisions or pass bills in the legislative assembly with or without the support of the other minority parties.
In practice, however, such a scenario is unlikely to happen. Our system of democracy has shown that the BN coalition is a system of power sharing, consultation and consensus among all the component members.
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