Opinion: Trouble in Sarawak?

Opinion: Trouble in Sarawak?


25 Jul 2025 • 8:00 AM MYT


TheRealNehruism
Writer. Seeker. Teacher

Image credit: Utusan Sarawak / Malay Mail


On this piece, I am going to start with a disclaimer:


Throughout this article, you are going to find many occasions where I will be gloating with glee and saying , so if you find this sort things vexing, this is the moment that you exit.


So now that we got that out of the way, what is it that I will be gloating about with glee, you ask ?


Well, I will be gloating about the fact that Abang Jo’s luck looks like it is running out.


Why am I gloating about it you ask?


Well, it is because last year in May, I had already predicted that Abang Jo’s Abang Jo's luck will be running out., although no one else saw it coming.


I predicted it at a time when Abang Jo was flying high – when he was hailed as a kingmaker in Putrajaya, when he had won with overwhelming majority the state and federal seats in Sarawak - when under his reign, Sarawak became extraordinarily rich – when many people were even talking about how he should go for the top spot in Malaysia, while no one was even imagining that he might be losing his top spot in Sarawak.


Well, why do I believe that his luck is running out?


Well, it is because news report has emerged that Awang Tengah will likely be challenging Abang Jo for the top spot in Sarawak soon.


Now I know not many of you might know who Awang Tengah is – so let me give you a brief description of him : Awang Tengah is the Sarawak number 2 and he is a heavyweight in Sarawak politics in his own rights. He is also a fly below the radar sort of politician- that is why you rarely hear about him – so the fact that his name has now emerged publicly as a challenger to Abang Jo, is definitely a sign that the plan to dislodge Abang Jo is well underway. Awang Tengah’s name, in other words, would not have come up, if the plan has not been fully set up. That his name has come out likely means that all that remains now is for him to walk into the trap that has already been set up for him.


Now expectedly, Abang Jo doesn’t believe this – that is why has come up with a statement to dismiss the rumour that his number 2 is gunning for the top position. In his usual fashion, he dismissed the rumour that there is a rivalry between him and Awang Tengah by saying that is merely driven by jealousy over Sarawak’s rapidly growing economy.


Abang Jo has penchat [kt corrects: 'penchant'] of accusing anybody who doesn't appreciate his leadership or decisions as being jealous of him. It is like he expects everybody to be clap hands, cheer and happy that he is on top. It is like he doesn’t understand that in this world, if you have something of value, everybody wants it. If your business is doing well, rival businesses will try to get your business for themselves. IIf you are the reigning champion, challengers will be training hard and relentlessly by trying to figure out a a way to take your trophy or belt away from you. This is not jealousy, this is just the way the world works. If you have something of value, everybody else will want it for themselves, not just be happy for you. If you don’t understand it, then you are given to fall.



By the way, the news that Awang Tengah is going to challenge Abang Jo coming in the open is not the only sign that Abang Jo is going to be facing troubled times soon.


Last month, PDP and SUPP, two parties in the Abang Jo led coalition GPS – have also come out publicly to state that they are in a state of open conflict. It is not normal for parties in a coalition that is winning so handsomely like GPS to have its component parties in open feud with each other. That they are in an open feud, is a sign that their feud is likely being stimulated by external influence – which in turn is a sign that it is also a part of the the plan to dislodge Abang Jo from the top position.


That Nurul Izzah , all of the sudden, fired a salvo against the Sarawak state government last month, by saying that the Sarawak government should do more to attend to the Native Customary land rights in Sarawak is also likely another sign that the plan to topple Abang Jo has indeed been set in motion. Nurul Izzah is likely going to the commander-in-chief for the PH’s campaign against Abang Jo’s GPS in the upcoming Sarawak state election. That she has open fired last month on the subject of native customary land rights issue in Sarawak, is not only a sign the plan to topple Abang Jo is underway, it is also a sign that the native customary land rights is going to be an Achilles heel of the Sarawak state government, that is going to be exploited by his opponents in the coming days.


Anyway, in the way I see it now, I see that Abang Jo’s challengers have already surrounded him with the PDP-SUPP feud, native customary land issue and Awang Tengah. In the very near future, I am quite confident that even more issues are going to erupt, to surround Abang Jo further.


They say that opportunity multiply as they are seized. Well, guess what, the contrary is also true – troubles also multiply the more that they are ignored. If you have one trouble, you just have one trouble. But if you have two troubles and if you don’t settle your two troubles quickly, your two troubles will breed with each other to make four troubles. And if you don’t settle these four troubles as well, well guess what, then you are going to be facing 16 troubles very soon.


In the days to come, I got a strong feeling that Abang Jo’s trouble with the native customary land rights, Awang Tengah and the PDP-SUPP feud will start to breed with each other, and add a whole host of problems to the list of Abang Jo’s problem before the Sarawak state election commences.