KUALA LUMPUR: The appointment of Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem as state minister with special functions dealing mainly with land matters has fuelled speculation that he is back as a front runner for the post of chief minister of Sarawak.
The former federal minister was special advisor in the Chief Minister’s Office before his new appointment, and is Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) information chief.
While some political analysts argue that Adenan’s appointment to the state cabinet indicates that there could be a major change in the chief minister’s succession plan, others believe that he might not be the front runner.
“Taib (Sarawak Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud) has placed Adenan in the cabinet to provide competition (on who should succeed him). There is no difference as he (Adenan) has been attending the (state) cabinet meetings in his capacity as special advisor (to the CM with state minister status). The appointment is just to formalise the standing,” said political analyst Prof James Chin of Monash University Malaysia.
However, the Sarawak-born Chin believes the timing of the appointment has also something to do with events that happened in the past few weeks, where there was a campaign in cyberspace by bloggers outside Sarawak to promote senior state minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg as Sarawak’s next chief minister.
Abang Johari who is PBB deputy president II is holding two important portfolios in the state cabinet — Tourism and Heritage, and Housing and Urban Development.
He is among the four names being bandied about as potential successor to Taib.
The others are Adenan, PBB senior vice-president and Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan and PBB deputy president I and Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu.
“Basically, he (Taib) wants to tell them that he will decide on who should be his successor and there is no need for outsiders to interfere,” said Chin.
Another political analyst, Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi, who is a lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, believes that Adenan’s appointment has something to do with the state Barisan Nasional’s (BN) preparation to face the opposition at the upcoming state assembly sitting which is scheduled for June 20 to 29.
“Adenan is well known for his debating skill, able to take on anyone and there are no other state BN leaders who can do that except Taib and Asfia (state assembly Speaker Dato Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar). He can argue and explain issues, fact by fact,” he said.
Awang said this was important as Sarawak BN would be facing good researchers and debators such as state Parti Keadilan Rakyat chief and Ba’Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian and the party’s Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How who are known for their expertise in Native Customary Rights (NCR) land matters.
Both of them are lawyers.
“You have to remember that back in 1987, when PBB was facing an internal crisis with some PBB members becoming independents and PBDS (now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak) in the opposition, he (Adenan) had countered every argument on the NCR land issue raised by the opposition when he was a state minister in charge of land,” he said.
Before the last state election on April 16, Baru had thrown a challenge to Taib for a debate on the NCR land issue but Taib, who is also the Minister of Planning and Resource Management, had tasked Adenan to take up the challenge instead.
“That explains why the opposition insisted on debating with Taib only and not Adenan.
They did not want to face him (Adenan) as they knew Adenan could easily take on them, fact by fact,” he added.
Adenan held several portfolios in the state administration including land development and social development, and in the federal cabinet as natural resources and environment minister.
He resigned from the federal cabinet in 2006.
A former journalist, magistrate and lawyer before venturing into politics, Adenan had won all the state and parliamentary seats he had contested since 1979, including retaining the Tanjung Datu seat with a 4,218-vote majority in a three-cornered fight in the recent state election.
He was appointed special advisor to the chief minister in a cabinet reshuffle in March 2010.
However, Awang believes that despite all his previous experiences, Adenan’s role will not be more than providing very focused and sharp arguments in the state assembly.
“Adenan is already 67 and this has made him unlikely to be a front runner for the chief minister post. However, he is still a tough politican to take on,” he said. — Bernama