Opposition parties shaken by Adenan “whirlwind”

Writer: Pan Jun Sheng

Oriental Daily, Feb 23, 2016

The Sarawak state election is looming and even though the Barisan-controlled state assembly has yet to be dissolved, all ruling and opposition parties are in a warring mode.

Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan has in several occasions defended the rights of the Chinese community in the state and his administration and political approach are totally different from his predecessor Taib. As the state election is drawing closer to the critical moment, he has indeed won praises from the Chinese community.

The Chinese may like Adenan but whether they would support Barisan candidates headed by him in the polls is another matter. Last year, many opportunistic politicians started fanning the fire by engaging in racist rhetoric with little consideration of the feelings of the non-Malays in order to defend their own interests. Many Chinese voters are deeply disappointed and angry and they still have strong feeling of resentment. Such negative feelings remain unchanged since the 308 and 505 general elections and this has become the hidden worry of the Barisan state government.

If the gap between the bumiputra and non-bumiputra has not been narrowed down and if UMNO leaders still insist on their bullying way of politics, Chinese voters may not show their appreciation to vote for the Barisan. Thus, the Sarawak state election will be the acid test for the forthcoming general election.

As the Chief Minister and leader of PBB, Adenan has launched several policy measures favourable to the Chinese community since his appointment. Besides openly declaring that the Chinese are not pendatang, the state government has also recognized the Unified Examination Certificate, accepted applications of government jobs by independent school graduates as well as increased allocations for Chinese schools. The opposition parties, of course, counter attacked Adenan and accused him of listening to UMNO and cannot make any self-decisions.

Adenan said his government needs the Chinese and the Chinese needs to participate in mainstream politics to defend their communal interests. This is a very practical statement. If the Chinese is not in the political mainstream, whatever political interests they now have would slowly be eroded and even disappear eventually.

In the 1969 and 2013 general elections, MCA suffered massive defeats and did not join the cabinet. Subsequently, UMNO took advantage and formulated many policies which are unfavourable to Chinese community, Chinese businesses and Chinese education, making efforts to defend Chinese interests even more onerous. When MCA refused to join the Cabinet, all the Cabinet posts held by MCA as well as positions in the state executive council, municipal and district councils and other positions were taken up by other parties, leaving almost nothing for MCA. Even if the party rejoined the Cabinet, its authority is limited.

As Adenan wants the Chinese to be in the state cabinet, he naturally hopes that Barisan partner SUPP can win the elections. In the last polls, Sarawak Barisan scored an overwhelming victory but SUPP suffered huge defeat. Now, with the new realignment of constituencies, Sarawak has 11 more seats, making a total of 82 seats. PBB will contest 40 seats while the other 42 seats would be shared by Barisan component parties.

The Sarawak state election would be a testing ground for Barisan in the 14th general election and Sarawak Barisan under Adenan cannot afford to lose. The state government under Adenan has taken the path of moderation in politics and the PBB’s strength remains solid. Bumiputra votes will support Barisan while opposition parties from West Malaysia such as PKR and PAS can never shake PBB strongholds. Only DAP may still have some hope of defending its strongholds.

In the 2011 state election, PBB won all the 35 seats it contested, SUPP contested 19 and won 6 seats, Sarawak People’s Party contested 9 and won 8 seats, and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party contested 8 and won 6 seats. On the Pakatan side, DAP won 12 seats and PKR 3. DAP has declared that it would contest 13 of the 34 seats in southern Sarawak. As there are now 11 more states to be contested, both DAP and PKR would certainly contest for more seats. It is learnt that DAP would contest 20 or more seats while PKR would contest 50 seats and above.

People are now looking forward to the Sarawak state election. The state now has 82 seats, the most among all the states. Adenan, recognized as a moderate leader, has declared that his Cabinet needs Chinese and he has also said there are indications that Chinese votes are returning. The question is how many percent of the Chinese votes are returning and will SUPP benefit with the blessing of Adenan.

It is not difficult for PBB under Adenan to score a full victory or win overwhelmingly. However, it would be a severe challenge for Barisan component parties to score a full victory or defend their existing seats, especially for SUPP which has been split into two and whose strength has been severely weakened.

Among other Barisan component parties, they are still facing numerous party or personal problems. If these parties are lacking in unity and spirit of co-operation, the DAP and PKR party flags would still be seen flying in many places and DAP would still remain the biggest opposition party in the state.