Five-year mandate there for the taking for Adenan

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IN an interview marking his first anniversary as Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem asked for a five-year full-term mandate to lead the state.

That mandate is his for the taking because if he were to call for an election anytime soon, the Barisan Nasional (BN) would not only be sure to win but would also most likely increase its majority in the State Legislative Assembly.

His record so far has guaranteed a big win for BN in the next state election.

He has pressed the right buttons to endear him to the man on the street, notably the Chinese voters who have generally voted against the government in the past.

His allocation of a RM3 million fund to the management board of Chinese independent schools last year (which he has just announced would increase to RM4 million this year) and his bold declaration that Malaysian Chinese are not ‘pendatangs’ have deflated two of the main issues the opposition has harped on to keep Chinese voters on their side.

And all Sarawakians rallied behind him when he called for a 20 per cent oil and gas royalty from Petronas.

He scored more points when he stated that Christians can use the word ‘Allah’ in their worship and stopped bigots and extremists from entering the state.

Then there is his walking his talk on fighting illegal loggers and corruption in the state.

Even the opposition has lauded his stance on all these issues.

The impact of Adenan’s leadership was aptly reflected by Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, when he said in a recent statement that at the rate Adenan is going, the opposition’s elected representatives would be driven out of a job soon as he has been addressing all the grouses they have been raising.

On top of that, the Chief Minister has reached out to the opposition – to listen to their views and the problems the people have brought to them.

With the path clear to the five-year mandate that he is asking for, there seems to be no reason to not call for the state election now.

However, there are two flies in the ointment – the redelineation of the state constituencies and the tussle for the right to contest under the BN banner among SPDP, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) and United People’s Party (UPP).

To be fair to Adenan, these problems were not of his doing as both began before he took over as the chief executive of the state.

The redelineation of the state seats is out of his hands as it is under the purview of the Election Commission (EC).

The new seats should be approved before the next state election but there are hitches that must be cleared before that can happen.

First there are the objections to the creation of all the proposed 11 new seats, which have been submitted.

The EC has to deal with these submissions and might even have to adjust the drawing of the new boundaries.

Then more time would have to be taken up by the court’s granting of leave for judicial review for state Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy chairman See Chee How and a voter from Baram.

This court hearing might drag the approval of the new seats to beyond June 2016 when the term for the present State Assembly expires and election is mandatory. However, the lack of new seats would not hinder Adenan from seeking a full term as they have no bearing on the final outcome of the next state polls because BN’s victory is a forgone conclusion with or without them.

The squabble among SPDP and SUPP with Teras and UPP is a different kettle of fish.

At the moment there seems to be no solution to this seemingly winner-takes-all tussle.

SPDP and SUPP would suffer a mortal blow if Adenan’s desire to include Teras and UPP leaders as BN candidates were to go through.

On the other hand, if SUPP and SPDP were to retain the seats they won in the last state election even though the incumbents have left for Teras or UPP, then both new parties would find it very difficult to survive. With SUPP and SPDP sticking to their guns and Teras and UPP knocking at BN’s door, Adenan has his work cut out for him in seeking a solution.

However, no matter how difficult the task is it has to be taken care of, but the solution will be anything but amicable … perhaps all the parties would have to pay a price in the end.