By now the people, those in urban constituencies in particular, should be convinced they can no longer vote for the opposition DAP, which has been campaigning for support with split messages namely the old and outdated Rocket symbol and Bina Harapan or Building Hope on Polling Day, May 9.
The Rocket, of course, is to assure urban voters that it is still an old Chinese – based party while Bina Harapan (Building Hope) is to convince voters that DAP Sarawak, which obviously tries to show its own identity, is part of the Pakatan Harapan (the National Hope Front) with the objective to bring down Dato Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister and topple Barisan Nasional Government. The people must take up issues with this archaic slogan.
In the age and time when Sarawak is becoming one of the fastest developing states, just behind Klang Valley and Putrajaya, in the country and busy developing the digital economy, DAP is pursing the campaign to build up hope of the people. Obviously the leaders, who have the insatiable desire for power, cannot even think properly what they want to do for the people.
The choice in this election for Sarawak is between Dato Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak, who is leading well organised BN election machinery and the ageing Mahathir Mohamed, who is leading a loose and fractured Pakatan Harapan (Dream Front).
Chief Minister, Datuk Patinggi Abang Haji Johari Tun Openg has pledged to gain more seats from 25 to 28 in support of the leadership of Dato Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak, who has proven himself to be a friendly Prime Minister to Sarawak. He cares for the rights, welfare and interests of Sarawak.
On the other hand Mahathir Mohamed, who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years, seldom visited Sarawak. Generally, the people felt they were being treated as step children by Mahathir Mohamed.
Local based political parties
Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari has already given a clear message to the people that the future of Sarawak is in the hands of local based component parties of Barisan Nasional namely PBB, PRS, SUPP and PDP and BN friendly party like United People Party.
Essentially, the people should only support the party with good track record of service to the people, State and country, which is none other than Barisan Nasional. The opposition parties namely DAP and PKR have very poor records of services to Sarawak; their performance can best be described as talk only no action. The urban voters, who have been voting in the elections either in the State or Parliamentary elections, should ask them for their speeches in Parliament.
However, to ensure a good victory for Barisan Nasional, all component parties must work as a team. For example, Puncak Borneo, a large constituency outside the greater Kuching city area, comprises Tarat, which is represented by Datuk Roland Sagah, the Assistant Minister of Native Customary Right Land Development, Mambong (Datuk Dr. Jerip Susil, the Assistant Minister of Transport) and Serumbu (Miro anak Simuh).
On paper, it should be an easy seat to win by PBB/BN even though it is being represented by a new comer, Gennoth anak Sinel against Mongin of PKR of Pakatan Harapan. BN should be on the upper hands but reports by relevant agencies put the ground situation at 50 – 50.
Putting acts together
Obviously, all concerned have not put their acts together with the weakest link being Mambong, where PBB branch being led by the former Member of Parliament, Datuk James Dawos Mamit, who has to give way because of poor health, has remained inactive.
Now, PKR being led by people like Rafizi Ramli, the former Member of Parliament for Pandan, who can be considered an expert propagandist, has been making allegations that Gennoth anak Sinel, a former staff surveyor, has illegally acquired thousands of acres of NCR land for himself and members of his family. Police reports have been made on the allegations.
The people, those in urban constituencies in particular, should ask why Mahathir Mohamed at 93 and after serving as the Prime Minister for 22 years, is seeking to serve as the Prime Minister for the second time. He is fast losing his credibility and integrity. But it is a common knowledge that he is willing to do anything to further his son Datuk Seri Mukhriz’s political career.
DAP’s Secretary General Lim Guan Eng, during his recent visit to Kuching, boasted that Penang Government is transparent and free of corruption. Who is he trying to fool except himself?
The people are not stupid and being ignorant of his court case of buying a bungalow at below market prize. The people are not ignorant of the kickbacks being paid to certain individuals to stop the SPR investigations into the undersea tunnel project. Of course, like Pakatan Harapan supremo Mahathir Mohamed, he has the outdated view that Sarawak is under- developed because the leaders tend to take the easy way out.
For example, cut down trees and sell the logs to overseas market, the people have low self – esteem and generally they are lazy, Lim must also believe that he is a better person to pass negative judgement on the people of Sarawak.
Nobody should question him when he announced that DAP would nominate Chong Chieng Jen, if he could win in Stampin Parliamentary seat, to be a Federal Minister in the Pakatan Harapan new Government after the G14.
DAP’s advisor Lim Kit Siang has said Pakatan Harapan needs the Malay Tsunami, the Chinese Tsunami, Indian Tsunami, Youth Tsunami, Women Tsunami, Young Women Tsunami and Workers Tsunami. But the situation on the ground does not show any mass movement away towards Pakatan Harapan, which is still recuperating from the loss of PAS. Party members are in disarray.
And yet the leaders including the State leader like Chong Chieng Jen have no hesitation to boast that they present better alternative to Barisan Nasional, which to them is an aging party and no longer relevant to Malaysia.
Obviously, they will need much more time to minimise their differences at the expense of serving the welfare and interest of the people. In any case, the people cannot expect much from the Opposition, which apart from releasing the manifesto, has failed to come up with a concrete plan to push Malaysia, to push Sarawak to become a developed State in Malaysia by the year 2020 and beyond.
If anything to show what the Opposition-led government will do, assuming that the people will give them the mandate to form the next government, is to make more and more promises, based on DAP tagline of Ubah, Kerajaan Baru, Harapan Baru (Change, New Government, New Hopes) just to give hopes to the people for their future.
DAP indulges in archive politics
Obviously, DAP is indulging in archive politics. It is out of touch with the realities on the ground. Now is well past the time for the people just to hope for better things in life. They have already experienced positive changes and achieved some success in life and they want to build on them.
DAP must come with a concrete plan how it can bring better socio economic progress to the people towards the year 2020 and beyond. It is not enough to complain whatever the government has been doing is wrong and make more promises how it can further develop the economy or how it can create more opportunities for the people including natives to be involved in the process of development.
Arguably, DAP has been experimenting with change though Sarawak has been experiencing tremendous changes during the past 30 years. But DAP is still maintaining the archive leadership, structure and ideology. It is being led by aging leaders like Mahathir Mohamed, Lim Kit Siang and others.
Ironically, DAP is still propagating itself as a political party with Socialist ideology, but is it really? What has the party done for the small people in Penang? Its decision to forcibly remove residents of the traditional Indian settlement of Kpg. Buah Pala, in spite of its 2008 election promise to keep the people in the village, surely does not conform to this.
Generally, DAP-led State government of Pulau Pinang has not been serving the welfare and interests of the small people, who need, for example, low cost houses and opportunities for them to run businesses. The forced evictions of hawkers from their premises have been getting wide coverage by mainstream media.
Instead, the DAP –led government has been building luxurious condominiums and apartments, with unit costs ranging from ½ a million to 1 million. They are beyond the wildest dreams of small people to own them. The small people need more and more units of low cost houses to be built for them. Obviously, their calls have fallen on deaf ears of leaders, whose party ideology is to champion the cause of small people.
DAP has pledged to continue, if it is given the mandate to govern Pulau Pinang again, with its plan to develop the undersea tunnel as the third link from the island to the mainland. The costs have been fluctuating from RM4 billion to RM 6 billion, RM8 billion and more. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng believes the cost to be RM6 billion and the differences have been blamed on typing errors even in the age of computer.
What they say in Palau Pinang is Rakyat Mahu Rumah Murah Tapi Ketua Menteri Hanya Pikir Mahu Buat Projek Besar Besar (the people need more low cost houses but the Chief Minister only thinks of building giant projects like multi – billion undersea tunnel. Generally, the people consider the undersea tunnel to be redundant as the second bridge will come into operation in the middle of next year.
DAP making U-turn
Ironically, DAP was in the forefront in the campaign against the first Penang bridge, which it considered to be too costly, when it was first mooted by the then Prime Minister, Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed (now Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed chairman of Pakatan Harapan). Then the party alleged that the country could not afford it and its implementation could lead the country into bankruptcy.
The Penang experience provides good examples that Lim Guan Eng, as a leader, does not walk the talk. And yet, he still comes here to make all sorts of promises like appointing Chong Chieng Jen as a Federal Minister. Why only Chong? Sarawak used to be having six Federal Ministers and five Deputy Ministers.
The fourth Chief Minister of Sarawak, Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud (now Tun Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, the reigning Governor of Sarawak), in his speech during the earth breaking ceremony of Emart-Batu Kawah road, says Dato Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak, during the last four years has proven himself to be a leader, who can bring about better changes to the country. He will be able to continue with the development to transform Malaysia to become a country with high income economy towards the year 2020 and beyond.
PM deserves strong mandate
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib could say with no reservation, after observing how Dato Seri Mohd. Najib had been working during the last four years nobody from the opposition could perform even half of what he could do. He deserved to be given a stronger mandate by the people in the current general election.
Generally, the people, after the success that they have been able to achieve, want more opportunities to work or do business to further raise their standard of living in future. For this reason, the State Government has already planned for a more orderly development of the economy.
Unlike the opposition, the Barisan Nasional led government, is not talking in a vague term about change. It is making conscientious efforts to institute change in accordance with the achievable potentials and what the people can enjoy as opportunities.
He believes that this is the best kind change that can be achieved by people, who know their jobs through organizations and institutions, to change the country. Admittedly, not all of what the government has done can satisfy the desire of the people; in any case, we can never get 100% of what we want.
Generally, the government has been doing the best of what it could do, no matter what the opposition says about it, in the service of the people and the country. It has already put in place a well tested work procedure and proper planning. It is not on the basis that when people request for project that it is approved straight away.
Normally the planning is for 10 years, the plan for a project needs to be refined in five years within the period, before allocation can be made to implement it. This is the way how things are being done and it is not a mere propaganda like those of the opposition.
The opposition is very good at talking. Nobody can dispute the fact that the leader of the opposition is very eloquent in making political rhetoric. But how much of what he says can be trusted and how much of his words can be taken to mean something that can benefit the people in future. The people should evaluate him properly.
The leader of the opposition almost reached the pinnacle of power in the Federal government. During that time he could speak very well but did very little. Hence, it is impossible to believe 100% of his promises. Now he has promised to give 20% oil royalty to Sarawak. It was good to the ears but the people should take it only as an entertainment.
Another leader of the opposition from Pulau Pinang has promised that if the loose opposition front comes to power, it will build a highway from Sematan to Lawas in five years. The opposition- led government will have sufficient money for the purpose.
But after giving 20% oil royalty to Sarawak, the opposition led Federal government will be left with 80% only and that means it will have much less money to spend. If a person with less money to spend but he is still prepared to spend more, he will lead the country into bigger debts and eventually to bankruptcy in future. This is the difference between the politics of talking big and making promises of the opposition and the politics of less talking but doing the work of Barisan Nasional.
Generally, the people know that Barisan Nasional, though it does do not talk much has been making conscientious efforts to transform the livelihood of the people and the situation in the country since independence through the formation of Malaysia in 1963. It believes in action rather than words. – ANAK SARAWAK
