KUCHING: Accepting the nine partyless direct BN assemblypersons by PBB will change the course of political history in Sarawak, cautioned UPP secretary-general George Lo yesterday.
“It would be no exaggeration to say that what is at stake is the racial and religious harmony that Sarawak has enjoyed since independence,” said Lo, when reacting to the article ‘State BN integrity in a flux’ that was front-paged by thesundaypost.
“But the ramifications of the acceptance of the nine go far beyond the wishes of those individuals.”
He warned that by handing an absolute majority to one single party, Sarawak will head into unknown territory.
“(That) one party can do what it wishes without regard to the views of the other parties. There is no longer any check and balance. There will be one large tiger and a few other toothless pussy cats. Make no mistake about that.”
Lo said there was no doubt PBB is the backbone of the Sarawak BN, and it won all 40 seats it contested in the just-concluded state election, a mere two seats short of an absolute majority. But, however strong a backbone may be, it cannot function on its own without the other parts of the skeletal structure.
“Today, PBB is the backbone. By the end of this month, it may well evolve into the entire skeleton. That is why Sarawak now stands at the crossroads. Does it stay on the course that the BN has walked since it was formed or does it take the turn that appears so enticing?” Lo said there was no doubt that all political parties desire the power that comes from the number of assemblymen it commanded. Hence, the lure of the nine direct BN assemblymen knocking on the door of PBB must make it so tempting to throw the door wide open.
“It is easy to simply say that the nine YBs wish to switch to PBB on their own accord, and they should be free to do so. Even getting the nine YBs to ask their supporters if they agree to join PBB is nothing more than a formality, as everyone knows.
“If the decision whether PBB should take the nine YBs is up to them and their supporters, then it is a done deal.”
Lo said just as he had commented more than two weeks ago, things might be fine now when the state had a chief minister who is fair to all races and religion.
“But no one can assure Sarawakians that every single CM that takes the helm of the state will be equally fair in future. Do we want to go down the same road that our West Malaysian counterparts have taken? We all know what that is.”
He said the state had prided upon itself on how much harmony there is and that Sarawak was a shining example for the rest of Malaysia. But that kind of harmony came from the fact that no single party could rule on its own. There was power sharing, consultation amongst BN component parties, and all races and religion were dealt with fairly.
“Coming back to the “wishes” of the individual YBs as to which party they want to join. PRS president Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing was quoted as saying that it is their right to choose. It is noteworthy that none of the nine come from any PRS seats, so Masing may feel that he has nothing to lose.
“In fact, the weakness of the other component parties make Masing’s PRS the second biggest BN component in Sarawak and directly contributed to his appointment as deputy chief minister.”
Lo added that Masing, however, overlooked something important.
“The entry of the nine YBs will create a precedent so that any ADUN can resign from his/her party and become ‘independent’; thereafter, the ‘independent’ YB can join PBB. If the criteria for doing a switch of parties are: firstly, the “right” of the YB to choose to join PBB and, secondly, the “wishes” of the YB’s supporters, then the door of PBB is wide open to all Bumiputra YBs from PRS, SPDP and SUPP.
“SPDP and SUPP have taken a stand that the seats cannot go with the nine YBs. They have not opposed PBB assuming an absolute majority. I guess that this is due to SPDP’s self-interest in seeing the demise of Teras (Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak) and SUPP’s hope that the departure of the three Bumi YBs will undermine UPP (United People’s Party).
“With respect, that is short-sighted self-interest because it fails to consider the interests of Sarawak and its people.”
Lo cautioned that the leaders of PRS, SPDP and SUPP would have to live with the consequences of their inaction in the generations to come if racial and religious harmony became compromised as a result of the dominance of one single non-multi-racial party.
Lo said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem won his first election at the helm by a landslide, and he was enormously popular by virtue of several landmark decisions he had taken that endeared him to the man in the streets.
However, the decision that now confronted him was of more importance than all his earlier decisions put together, he opined.
“It will determine his legacy. A decision to take an absolute majority for PBB will change the political history of Sarawak and, once the genie is out of the bottle, it will be impossible to put it back in. PBB will be the next Umno, a party so powerful within the alliance that the other component parties exist at its pleasure.
“I believe that history will judge the chief minister more by this decision than any other. I know he is wise, and he is fair. I can only hope that the decision he makes will be one that future generations of Sarawakians will thank him for.”