Sarawak Elections - morning after

So … it’s over … at least for now until the next state or general election.

BN won its 2/3, but with only 55% of the votes. But that’s the way it has been and will always be, unless we change our voting system to proportionate representations like the Australian system (which the British proposes to do, but most unlikely to be adopted here as it won't favour UMNO).

As The Malaysian Insider editorial puts it, “… when PR go to battle they are up against Umno, MCA, SUPP, PBB, Maybank, Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times, PDRM, EC, Pos Malaysia, AirAsia, etc.”

But almost all are legitimate Pakatan’s political foes, with two frightening EXCEPTIONS, the PDRM and EC.

That the PDRM is not an impartial civil service but one which works directly for UMNO is already a given and almost accepted by frustrated opposition politicians and the public who work around those biased men in blue.

But the EC is an insidious evil organization for its partisan behaviour. The outrageous and arrogant refusal to hand over the Borang 14 has been a recent example of its unprofessional sins. If you’re the religious type (and Muslim) you may believe those EC staff demonstrating their partisan conduct will soon be burning in the Islamic Hell for their sins, wakakaka.

But leave that aside as we are still here in the material world. Like the case for the police, we have to work around the EC bastards.

The Malaysian Insider editorial believes two factors, apart from the above biased civil services, brought salvation for the BN, namely, Najib and RM500 million worth of handouts. They ensured the BN received at least 55% of the votes.

Traditionally the Deputy Chairperson of BN (also the deputy president of UMNO and DPM) is the BN’s election campaign director, with the chairperson only making the odd campaign speeches or two at various important centres, kissing babies, awarding grants, and making promises, etc. But Muhyiddin as a campaign director was hopeless; bloke was as lost as a skittish kijang in downtown Kuching.

But then these have been precisely his qualities which persuaded Najib (and probably Dr Mahathir as king maker) to push for Muhyiddin to be deputy president of UMNO (and thus DPM) because Najib doesn’t want an independent-thinking, dangerous and too smart Alec (e.g., like Ali Rustam) to be his deputy. So Najib has to reap what he has sown, a semi-dumbo deputy party president/DPM who proved to be pathetically ineffective as BN's election campaign director.

When I read that Najib had personally taken over from Muhyiddin during the second half of the campaign stage, I knew that the BN was in trouble. I know many of you hate Najib with a vengeance, but I am less biased, seeing in him a rather clever, (definitely) cunning, cosmopolitan-minded, charming, and convincing politician who can woo, persuade, and sell his bullshit rather well.

Mind, all these qualities are those required of an effective politician; Najib merely demonstrated his ability to work all these qualities well wakakaka, and to the benefit and relief of an initially terrified BN in Sarawak.

Of course delusional Taib would believe he must still have the persona and pull to win 2/3 of the seats, wakakaka.

Okay, it's frustrating the final election results haven’t reflected the true picture that while BN has taken more than 2/3 of the total seats, it has actually won only 55% of the votes. But as I said, that’s the nature of the election ‘first-past-the-post’ beast. No point in crying or moaning – work with that.

But I am glad that power-crazy Taib, delusional as he is, has with much obscene haste appointed himself as the CM straightaway the very moment he knew the BN has obtained the winning majority (but with the results of many seats still undetermined), no doubt to forestall any Putrajaya move to remove him, and naturally to the grave dismay of Najib.

I’m glad because the person of Taib can once again serve as the Pakatan central campaign issue in 2013. Getting rid of 'Peh Mor' had been an effective issue for Pakatan in this recent state election, so Taib continuing as a CM, hopefully into 2013, will again be a blessed boon to the opposition. Poor Najib must be cracking his head on how to remove this BN’s Old Man of the Sea.

DAP went for 15 seats and won 12. It could have won 13 if 3,000 postal votes didn’t save Wong Soon Koh in Bawang Assam. But anyway the end result is what DAP expected, and it should be happy it achieved its planned target, including the scalps of George Chan and a few others. Let’s hope CSL in Peninsula is next to join George Chan, Koh TK and Samy.

In a couple of previous posts I had sneeringly said of PKR’s outrageously preemptive stake-claiming of 52 of the 71 Sarawak seats, that it hopes to win 2 seats by doubling its 2006 efforts (25 in 2006 got 1, maybe 52 in 2011 will get 2?). Well, it did better than I predicted, having won 3 (including Batu Lintang) wakakaka.

I just wonder how many it would have won if it had not frittered away the earlier part of the campaign opportunities by unnecessarily squabbling with SNAP? But it’s a stark reminder to Azmin Ali to stop bossing Sarawakian and indeed Sabahan PKR activities. Those state leaders will do better without Peninsula party leaders micro-managing their affairs.

I suppose we can only hope.