Abang Jo should resign
There are some parties in Sarawak that wish to change the state constitution of Sarawak to ban Semenanjung parties from participating in Sarawak politics, but it is not Semenanjung parties that should worry the political parties of Sarawak.
I am quite sure that there is no strategist in Semenanjung that believes that Sarawak can be taken by a Semenanjung party. We all know that the anti-Semenanjung sentiment is just too thick in Sarawak. The anti-Semenanjung sentiment might arguably be the only sentiment that unites all the different ethnicities and identity groups in Sarawak. Except for DAP, which might make a little impact amongst Sarawak’s Chinese population, there is unlikely to be any other Semenanjung party that will make any headway in Sarawak because of the thick anti-Semenanjung sentiment that engulfs all of Sarawak.
So does this mean that Putrajaya has no designs on Sarawak?
Of course not. As I have mentioned earlier, to launch a DigVijaya upon Sarawak and bring Sarawak under the control of Putrajaya is probably going to be one of Anwar’s main duties for the federation before he hangs his boot.
There are three things that will define Anwar’s legacy. The first is his ability to change the culture of corruption, cronyism and nepotism in the nation, the second is regards to his measures to mitigate the nation's racial and religious tension and third has to do with how he quashes the regional separatist ambitions. It is only if Anwar succeeds in these three areas, that he will be celebrated as a “saviour of the federation” by future generations.
Other than for the sake of his legacy, Anwar also has to launch a digvijaya upon Sarawak for a more practical reason. If Anwar depends on Semenanjung politics alone, he might lose the next election. He barely won the last election by a hairbreadth. Unless he captures Sabah and Sarawak before the next general election, there will always be a possibility that he might lose the next general election to his political opponents in Semenanjung.
It is only if he captures Sabah and Sarawak, will his opponents in Semenanjung truly throw in the towel and accept PH’s position as the government of the nation is unassailable.
For these two reasons, Anwar will by hook or crook, do whatever is necessary to make Sabah and Sarawak loyal to PH, not only to strengthen its hold in Putrajaya, but to make sure that Sabah and Sarawak will always remain as a part of the federation.
But if Semenanjung parties are incapable of penetrating Sarawak's politics, how will PH make inroads in Sarawak ?
Well, from my point of view, there is only one way that it will be able to do so, and this is by using a Sarawakian party as their vehicle to spread their influence in Sarawak.
This being the case, the next question will then be, which Sarawakian party is it that will PH will use, to challenge GPS’s dominance in Sarawak?
I think there is only one party that will be able to challenge GPS’s dominance in Sarawak and that party is GPS itself.
In other words, for PH to make an inroad in Sarawak, it will have to split GPS into at least two factions.
It is only if one faction of GPS is fighting with another faction of GPS, will Putrajaya have the opportunity to to play the role of kingmaker and peacemaker in the internal politics of Sarawak. It is only if Putrajaya is able to play the role of Kingmaker or Peacemaker in Sarawak, that PH will be able to establish a state government of Sarawak that will be loyal to Putrajaya and serve as a vote bank for PH.
The next question then is how will Putrajaya split GPS?
I think the writing on the wall is that they will target the failures of Abang Jo’s administration to create an internal schism in GPS.
I am quite sure that there is no strategist in Semenanjung that believes that Sarawak can be taken by a Semenanjung party. We all know that the anti-Semenanjung sentiment is just too thick in Sarawak. The anti-Semenanjung sentiment might arguably be the only sentiment that unites all the different ethnicities and identity groups in Sarawak. Except for DAP, which might make a little impact amongst Sarawak’s Chinese population, there is unlikely to be any other Semenanjung party that will make any headway in Sarawak because of the thick anti-Semenanjung sentiment that engulfs all of Sarawak.
So does this mean that Putrajaya has no designs on Sarawak?
Of course not. As I have mentioned earlier, to launch a DigVijaya upon Sarawak and bring Sarawak under the control of Putrajaya is probably going to be one of Anwar’s main duties for the federation before he hangs his boot.
There are three things that will define Anwar’s legacy. The first is his ability to change the culture of corruption, cronyism and nepotism in the nation, the second is regards to his measures to mitigate the nation's racial and religious tension and third has to do with how he quashes the regional separatist ambitions. It is only if Anwar succeeds in these three areas, that he will be celebrated as a “saviour of the federation” by future generations.
Other than for the sake of his legacy, Anwar also has to launch a digvijaya upon Sarawak for a more practical reason. If Anwar depends on Semenanjung politics alone, he might lose the next election. He barely won the last election by a hairbreadth. Unless he captures Sabah and Sarawak before the next general election, there will always be a possibility that he might lose the next general election to his political opponents in Semenanjung.
It is only if he captures Sabah and Sarawak, will his opponents in Semenanjung truly throw in the towel and accept PH’s position as the government of the nation is unassailable.
For these two reasons, Anwar will by hook or crook, do whatever is necessary to make Sabah and Sarawak loyal to PH, not only to strengthen its hold in Putrajaya, but to make sure that Sabah and Sarawak will always remain as a part of the federation.
But if Semenanjung parties are incapable of penetrating Sarawak's politics, how will PH make inroads in Sarawak ?
Well, from my point of view, there is only one way that it will be able to do so, and this is by using a Sarawakian party as their vehicle to spread their influence in Sarawak.
This being the case, the next question will then be, which Sarawakian party is it that will PH will use, to challenge GPS’s dominance in Sarawak?
I think there is only one party that will be able to challenge GPS’s dominance in Sarawak and that party is GPS itself.
In other words, for PH to make an inroad in Sarawak, it will have to split GPS into at least two factions.
It is only if one faction of GPS is fighting with another faction of GPS, will Putrajaya have the opportunity to to play the role of kingmaker and peacemaker in the internal politics of Sarawak. It is only if Putrajaya is able to play the role of Kingmaker or Peacemaker in Sarawak, that PH will be able to establish a state government of Sarawak that will be loyal to Putrajaya and serve as a vote bank for PH.
The next question then is how will Putrajaya split GPS?
I think the writing on the wall is that they will target the failures of Abang Jo’s administration to create an internal schism in GPS.
Abang Jo
As it is, opposition politicians in Sarawak like Chong Chieng Jen and Violet Yong are already hitting on the failures of Abang Jo’s administration.
Targeting Abang Jo’s failures has a high likelihood of inducing a schism in GPS’s politics, simply because it is true.
Abang Jo’s administration has indeed spectacularly failed Sarawak despite the abundance of good fortune and support that it has had in the last 5 years.
In the last state and general election, the Sarawakian people had given Abang Jo and GPS an overwhelming amount of support, that amounted to 76 out 82 state seats and 23 out of 31 parliament seats.
By luck, at a time when the whole of Sarawak was standing behind GPS, Putrajaya also had weakened to a point that it was extremely dependent on Sarawak to sustain its rule.
Considering the great amount of luck and support that Abang Jo has had, it is astonishing to see how little he has to show for it.
All that Abang Jo has seemed to have gotten for Sarawak, despite the extreme abundance of luck and support that he had, is an airline and a bank, that Putrajaya itself likely didn’t want.
The MASWing airline that Putrajaya sold to the Sarawak state government was likely a loss making business that depended on subsidies by Putrajaya to remain operational. Putrajaya was likely more than happy to relinquish it to Sarawak.
As it is, opposition politicians in Sarawak like Chong Chieng Jen and Violet Yong are already hitting on the failures of Abang Jo’s administration.
Targeting Abang Jo’s failures has a high likelihood of inducing a schism in GPS’s politics, simply because it is true.
Abang Jo’s administration has indeed spectacularly failed Sarawak despite the abundance of good fortune and support that it has had in the last 5 years.
In the last state and general election, the Sarawakian people had given Abang Jo and GPS an overwhelming amount of support, that amounted to 76 out 82 state seats and 23 out of 31 parliament seats.
By luck, at a time when the whole of Sarawak was standing behind GPS, Putrajaya also had weakened to a point that it was extremely dependent on Sarawak to sustain its rule.
Considering the great amount of luck and support that Abang Jo has had, it is astonishing to see how little he has to show for it.
All that Abang Jo has seemed to have gotten for Sarawak, despite the extreme abundance of luck and support that he had, is an airline and a bank, that Putrajaya itself likely didn’t want.
The MASWing airline that Putrajaya sold to the Sarawak state government was likely a loss making business that depended on subsidies by Putrajaya to remain operational. Putrajaya was likely more than happy to relinquish it to Sarawak.
As for the Sarawak government’s purchase of Affin bank, one of the smallest banks in the country, the ones that likely benefited from the deal are the shareholders of the banks, not the state or people of Sarawak.
It is amazing how Putrajaya succeeded to dump two companies that it likely did not want, to Sarawak, probably at a profit, while convincing Sarawak that taking these companies is somewhat tantamount to Sarawak gaining victory against Putrajaya.
As for the meaningful gains – like its oil and gas rights and the 35 percent of parliament seats- Abang Jo has had numerous golden opportunities to secure it in the last 2 years, but it looks like he has made zero headway.
Although the 35 percent of parliament seats were promised to Sarawak and Sabah over two years ago by both former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Sarawak and Sabah today only have a vague promise that they will get it after the next general election is over.
As for their oil and gas rights, as Chong Chieng Jen said, Abang Jo can say all that he wants, but the fact is that ‘Sarawak’s O&G rights have been compromised for the second time.
Today, more than two after the 2022 general election, Inch by inch, brick by brick, dollar by dollar, Anwar had consolidated hold of Putrajaya, to the point that he can probably rule Putrajaya even if he doesn't have the support of Abang Jo.
Now that Anwar no longer is dependent on the support of Sarawak to maintain his rule on Putrajaya, it is unlikely that Sarawak will be able to secure the oil and gas rights or 35 percent of parliament seats that it so earnestly desires before the next state and general election in Sarawak.
Considering that, all that the opponents of Abang Jo have to do until the next election, to cause schism to occur in GPS, is to plainly state that Abang Jo has failed, as this article itself is plainly stating it, and GPS will have no means to counter their claim, simply because it is true.
Once the opponents of Abang Jo establishes the view that Abang Jo has failed, the grounds to split in GPS will then be established.
If your leader has been proven to have failed, but he refuses to step down, then the lower-level leader in the organisation will have a legitimate ground to agitate against the said leader.
We must understand that Abang Jo’s hold on the other leaders in his party is likely not as strong as his predecessors. Most of the high-ranking leaders in Sarawak likely owe their power and position to the late Taib Mahmud, not Abang Jo. They have no personal fealty to Abang Jo, that will persuade them to remain loyal to Abang Jo despite his failures.
Taib Mahmud
The other leaders in his party are also quite likely to desire ruling a state which is claiming that an astronomical RM 100 billion will be pumped into its economy in the next 5 years. To fulfill their political ambitions of becoming the head a state government that has the capacity to spend tens if not hundreds of billions, removing Abang Jo from the top position is their only option.
Seeing so, they have every reason to move to get Abang Jo to step aside, once Abang Jo’s failures become well publicized.
To prevent a Team A and Team B situation in GPS occurring, which might in turn see the factions of GPS contesting against each other in the coming state election of Sarawak, it will probably be best that Abang Jo be prepared to resign, when murmurs of discontent against the failure of his leadership starts to get louder.
For now, it is only DAP that is speaking about Abang Jo's failure as the leader of Sarawak. Once the component parties and grassroot of GPS starts to repeat DAP’s talking points, then it might indeed be time for Abang Jo to step aside, in order to prevent a schism to appear in GPS.
If he refuses, his refusal might induce In fighting within GPS, which will n turn open up the opportunity for Semenanjung parties, especially PH, to enter Sarawak politics, play the role of Kingmaker and Peacemaker, and bring Sarawak again under the control of Putrajaya.
If it is true that Abang Jo loves Sarawak and wishes for Sarawak to remain in the hands of Sarawakians, soon it will be time that he proves it, by putting the interest of Sarawak above his self-interest.
The other leaders in his party are also quite likely to desire ruling a state which is claiming that an astronomical RM 100 billion will be pumped into its economy in the next 5 years. To fulfill their political ambitions of becoming the head a state government that has the capacity to spend tens if not hundreds of billions, removing Abang Jo from the top position is their only option.
Seeing so, they have every reason to move to get Abang Jo to step aside, once Abang Jo’s failures become well publicized.
To prevent a Team A and Team B situation in GPS occurring, which might in turn see the factions of GPS contesting against each other in the coming state election of Sarawak, it will probably be best that Abang Jo be prepared to resign, when murmurs of discontent against the failure of his leadership starts to get louder.
For now, it is only DAP that is speaking about Abang Jo's failure as the leader of Sarawak. Once the component parties and grassroot of GPS starts to repeat DAP’s talking points, then it might indeed be time for Abang Jo to step aside, in order to prevent a schism to appear in GPS.
If he refuses, his refusal might induce In fighting within GPS, which will n turn open up the opportunity for Semenanjung parties, especially PH, to enter Sarawak politics, play the role of Kingmaker and Peacemaker, and bring Sarawak again under the control of Putrajaya.
If it is true that Abang Jo loves Sarawak and wishes for Sarawak to remain in the hands of Sarawakians, soon it will be time that he proves it, by putting the interest of Sarawak above his self-interest.
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