KUCHING: State DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) chairman Wong King Wei yesterday opined that ‘Give me a chance’ is an election slogan meant for Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem personally, and not for the Barisan Nasional (BN) as a whole.
“It is not new to him as once he publicly said that he hoped the people remember him. It clearly shows that he is a ‘lone ranger’ in BN,” he said in a text to The Borneo Post when asked to comment on Adenan’s slogan for the next state election.
Wong, also Padungan assemblyman and a lawyer by profession, pointed out “it is the system and law which represent the ultimate protector of the people, not any individual.”
In politics, he said no individual should be trusted as the person in power could be changed due to circumstances, time and other factors.
What the people should rely upon, he stressed, would be the system – one which is truly propounding righteousness, fairness and cleanliness in governance.
“Adenan did also say that as long as he is the chief minister of Sarawak, Chinese will be treated fairly and he did say too there will not be religious extremism. I applaud that but what is more pertinent is how far Adenan can keep this?
“A clear example is the allocation to Chinese independent schools, which is RM4 million this year, RM1 million more than the amount of last year. This is good but the best is allocation through the state annual budget, and not allocation depending on any leader.”
Wong felt that the chief minister was alone in the fold of BN, adding: “His hands are tied more often than not.”
For instance, he said, former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had tried to eliminate corruption and ensure independency of the judiciary but only to fail due to internal struggle.
“Adenan’s slogan clearly shows that he knows BN has nothing to sell. I have a query: How far can a captain sail with a broken ship? Will Adenan compromise at the end of the day?
“Has Adenan compromised by not appointing himself but (Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar) Awang Tengah (Ali Hasan) as the chairman of the special committee to fight against illegal logging, which he has determined to fight against?”
In a recent interview with PBB’s monthly newspaper Jiwa Bakti, Adenan was quoted as saying: “So, ‘give me a chance’, is the slogan (for the election)…I hope to get a mandate from the people to continue with my mission.”
The state BN chairman said he needed at least several years to achieve his vision for Sarawak, admitting that he could not do it alone and needed the cooperation of every resident in the state.