I read with interest what is happening between DAP and PKR in Sarawak on the seats allocation. The tussle over which party should contest in which constituency is still on amid the election date, 8th March 2008 is just around the corner. I quote Borneo Post :
“With no signs of a compromise coming, both parties are glaring at each other, itching for a face off in Bandar Kuching, Stampin, Lanang, Sibu, Sarikei and Miri.”
On one hand, they want rakyat to support the opposition and to deny BN a 2/3 majority this upcoming election, but they are not united enough for that. Coming from Sarawak myself, a proud and kick-ass Sarawakian, this is my lousy 2 cents.
Generally, people in Sarawak treat any party from the Peninsular with caution. It is hard for them to put their support behind any peninsular based party. Yes it sounds weird but it is true. Hence you don’t have MCA in Sarawak, but Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) to represent the Chinese. (SUPP claims to represent all race, but in reality majority of their members are Chinese, just like Gerakan here in Peninsular), Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), the now-defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) — now known as Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) (four of the big shots formed the new party the very same day PBDS was de-registered) to represent other races in Sarawak – Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Malay etc. These are the coalition parties, representing the Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN). On the opposition side, you have Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and some other parties not worth mentioning. (LOL!)
Of all these, you can see that PKR, DAP and PAS are the three Semenanjung (Peninsular) based opposition parties. (Yes, you don’t have UMNO, MCA, Gerakan or MIC here in Sarawak). With exception of DAP, PKR and PAS are regarded as outsiders for many Sarawakians. One of the reason probably they are fairly new in Sarawak, I guess? Well, just treat Sarawak as another small country where any party from outside will be treated with cold response. Hence you never see UMNO or any other main coalition parties from Peninsular opening any branch in Sarawak, they just leave it to the Sarawak BN to divide and rule. Yes, divide and rule, the proven, tried and tested strategy to ensure political survival for race based parties in Malaysia.
Just look at how Umno leaders talk about the Malays. MCA politicians raise Chinese issues. Indian politicians do the same for the country’s minority Indians. It is pretty much the same in Sarawak, too bad. But note that Sarawakians are well known for their closeness between races. Only the scumbags politicians fond of stirring shits to ensure racial consciousness is there. Every Malaysian must be reminded that he/she is Chinese, or Indian and not Malaysian. We all know it to well, grown up to know how our politicians are fond of making racial statements.
Where and when do we put a stop to this? Sad to say, the situation will stay that way for a long time to come. Unless of course, we de-register all race-based parties and prohibit politicians from raising altogether racial and religious issues.
Back to the PKR vs DAP issue, seriously they have no idea how stupid it looks like. They are asking voters to throw a support behind the opposition and give BN a run for the money, but with unresolved issue like this how are they going to pose a serious challenge against BN? If the negotiation between the two opposition parties failed, a three-cornered fight would be on the cards, and I seriously doubt if the opposition will be able to win any seat by doing that.
How arrogant and stupid, they are not united as they should be, all of them are thinking of how to optimize the number of seats they win regardless of whether they may be considered outsiders or not. I know this is partially due to the fact that they are aware that many Malaysians (read = Sarawakians) at least are pretty intent on ensuring that BN doesn’t secure the majority, and all parties want to ‘lead’ the opposition, which is really dumb. BN must be laughing their ass off at the antics.
I want to tell this to PKR, especially to State PKR liaison chief Dominique Ng. (Wow! Who am I heh??)
People on the street do not want PKR to represent them in the opposition. They do not trust any party from Peninsular to represent them, and many still suspicious of Anwar Ibrahim. PKR will just jeopardize the chance of the opposition of securing any seats in Sarawak by insisting to contest together with DAP. Yes, maybe PKR think Malaysians will vote for any opposition party as long as it is not BN this upcoming election, but in Sarawak it is a very different story.
PKR must aware of that in weighing their decision to contest. Please do not create any 3-corner fights, or else it is a waste of time and effort for people like me that has been telling all the people around me to put the support behind the opposition. It is suicidal for PKR and DAP to go for a three-cornered fight against the BN, which they are bracing to do in Bandar Kuching, Stampin, Lanang, Sibu, Sarikei and Miri. Leave it to DAP, take into consideration of DAP six-seat victories in the last State election when PKR only won one seat, in Padungan. It is pretty clear don’t you think??
