COMMENT: It will be interesting to see the reaction of the Chinese in Sarawak towards their new chief minister, Adenan Satem, come the state election next month.
This is the first time Adenan is leading the BN into the state election. He became Sarawak’s fifth chief minister just two years ago.
On the national front, Adenan is popular for taking the lead to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), an examination sat by Chinese independent school students. This recognition allows them to study in Sarawak universities and gives them a chance to join the public service in Sarawak.
For years, MCA leaders and Chinese education activists have worked hard to get the federal government to recognise UEC. Although UEC holders are able to pursue their studies overseas, the certificate has yet to gain recognition from the federal government.
But Adenan has achieved a breakthrough with the UEC recognition at state level. This example was followed by Selangor and Penang, two states controlled by the federal Opposition.
The chief minister has also been generous towards Chinese independent schools, giving them annual grants, gradually increasing the quantum.
In what could be further music to the Chinese community, Adenan has repeatedly said in public that the Chinese are not “pendatang” and that they should not be called as such.
Could these “feel good” vibes from Adenan to the Chinese community see a return of support to the BN? No one knows.
Over the past two state elections, the Chinese had rejected the BN and voted for the Opposition.
The Chinese, especially those in the urban areas, may still vote for the DAP as they prefer to have check-and-balance in the state government, said Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) associate Professor Dr Mohd Faisal Syam Abdol Hazis.
To him, Adenan’s popularity cannot be the sole yardstick to gauge the support of the Chinese voters, reported the China Press.
A public poll conducted by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) earlier this year indicated that Adenan’s public support has surged to 85.5% but only 64% among the Chinese.
In contrast, Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen scored 74% among the Chinese in the survey.
In 2011, DAP won 12 of the 15 seats it contested in the state polls, the best result for the party and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition then, that has been achieved in Sarawak.
Although BN was still able to clinch its two-third majority by winning 55 state seats, its coalition partner, the Chinese-based party Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) suffered major defeats and was the biggest loser in 2011.
SUPP’s number of seats was reduced from 11 in 2006 to six in 2011. The then SUPP president was also a casualty.
SUPP suffered another blow when some of its leaders left the party to form United People’s Party (UPP) in 2014, a friendly party to the BN.
UPP and SUPP are now involved in a bitter tussle about seat allocation.
Adenan has a difficult time pacifying leaders of the two parties and he has considered fielding direct BN candidates as a solution to the impasse.
Whether that will work or not is another story.
Will SUPP and UPP deliver the Chinese seats to the BN in next month’s elections? No one can tell.
If it is any consolation to the BN, the Opposition parties namely DAP, PKR and PAS are also squabbling over seats. This is nothing unusual as it has become a ‘normal’ occurrence before every election.
What is interesting to note here is that the voting pattern in the urban areas among Chinese voters in next month’s Sarawak election could possibly be taken as a yardstick to measure the support of the Chinese towards BN in GE14, due in 2018.-The Ant Daily
