Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Taib sedia undur jika tak diperlukan, trend pengundi Cina bingungkan

Taib kata dia perlu bincang dengan pucuk pimpinan parti dia dulu. - Gambar Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 Ogos - Ketua Menteri Sarawak Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud yang sudah hampir lima dekad aktif dalam politik dan menerajui negeri itu sejak 29 tahun lalu menegaskan "akan berundur" jika tidak lagi lagi diperlukan.

Kemungkinan itu masih menjadi teka-teki ketika Sarawak bersedia ke arah pilihan raya umum negeri.

Bagaimanapun beliau masih belum membuat keputusan sama ada akan mempertahankan kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri yang diwakilinya pada pilihan raya negeri ke-10, yang disebut-sebut dalam waktu terdekat ini.

Pemimpin berusia 74 tahun itu yang merupakan Ketua Menteri yang paling lama berkhidmat iaitu sejak 26 Mac 1981, berkata beliau tidak dapat membuat keputusan mengenai perkara itu kerana ia perlu dibincangkan dan diluluskan oleh pucuk pimpinan.

"Saya tidak tahu... terserah kepada parti dan perdana menteri," katanya di Kuching semalam.

Pada 1981, beliau turut bertanding di kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Sebandi bagi membolehkannya kembali ke Sarawak dan menjadi Ketua Menteri menggantikan Tun Abdul Rahman Yaakub.

Taib juga mempertahankan kerusi DUN Sebandi pada 1983, 1987; kerusi DUN Asajaya (1991, 1996) dan DUN Balingian (2001 dan 2006).

Kata Taib, beliau bersedia untuk berundur jika keadaan memerlukan beliau berbuat demikian.

"Banyak orang kata saya tidak diperlukan. Jika saya tidak diperlukan, saya akan berundur," kata beliau dipetik Bernama.

Taib yang juga Presiden Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) sejak 1981 dan pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN) Sarawak berkata beliau sebenarnya mahu berundur daripada politik pada 2006 tetapi ramai di kalangan dalam parti menentang hasratnya itu dan akhirnya beliau memutuskan untuk tidak bersara.

Mengenai bila beliau kemungkinan mengadakan pilihan raya negeri, Ketua Menteri berkata perkara itu masih belum diputuskan lagi.

Mengenai sentimen pengundi Cina di Sarawak yang masih memilih pembangkang berbanding BN, Taib mengakui trend itu masih membingungkannya sehingga kini.

"Saya juga bertanyakan soalan yang sama, saya mahu tahu," katanya.

Kata beliau, kerajaan negeri secara ikhlas cuba memenangi hati pengundi Cina tetapi masih gagal berbuat demikian sehingga kini.

Pada pilihan raya negeri 2006, PBB memenangi 34 daripada 71 kerusi negeri diikuti Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak (SUPP) dengan 11 kerusi, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) sembilan kerusi dan Parti Progresif Demokratik Sarawak (SPDP) lapan kerusi manakala selebihnya dimenangi parti-parti pembangkang.

Mengulas isu lain, Taib dipetik Berita Harian berkata, beliau tidak akan campur tangan dalam hal ehwal dalaman Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak (SUPP) yang pernah kalah teruk pada Pilihan Raya Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak 2006.

"Selama ini saya sudah banyak membantu SUPP, sama ada mereka mahu menerimanya atau tidak, ia perkara lain.

"Saya sudah memberikan analisis dan nasihat mengenai masalah mereka sebelum ini," kata beliau.

"Kini terpulang kepada mereka. Jika saya melakukan lebih dari itu, ada di kalangan pemimpin SUPP akan mengkritik saya kerana mencampuri hal ehwal dalaman parti itu," katanya.

Taib menambah SUPP sebenarnya lebih perlu membantu diri mereka sendiri, bukannya mengharapkan bantuan dari luar dalam memulihkan kekuatan parti berkenaan.

Beliau pertama kali mengangkat sumpah sebagai Ahli Parlimen ketika era perdana menteri pertama, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj pada 1967 ketika berusia 31 tahun.

Taib dilantik Timbalan Menteri Perdagangan dan Industri pada 1968.

Sementara itu ketika kepimpinan Tun Abdul Razak, beliau dilantik Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri pada September 1970 dan dua tahun kemudian dilantik sebagai Menteri Sumber Asli dan selepas itu memegang pelbagai portfolio di bawah Tun Razak dan Tun Hussein Onn sehingga 1981.

Beliau juga pernah dilantik Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan pertama pada 1980.

Abdul Taib mempertahankan kerusinya dalam pilihan raya umum 1969 hingga 2004 termasuk beberapa kali menang tanpa bertanding sebelum memutuskan untuk tidak bertanding kerusi Parlimen pada 2008, dengan anaknya Datuk Seri Sulaiman Taib menggantikannya.

Chinese face in government to dog BN Sarawak campaign

Ngieng believed the Chinese would back BN for fear of losing their voice in the administration. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — The next Sarawak election will be marked by concern over Chinese representation in the state government as the opposition is expected to do well in constituencies dominated by the community, while Barisan Nasional (BN) will continue to rule with the support of other groups.

The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), which represents the Chinese community in the state BN, is expected to harp on the risk of losing representation in the state government during the election campaign.

“Of course we are concerned about our representation in the government. Politics is a number game,” said SUPP central committee member Daniel Ngieng.

Ngieng was one of the SUPP candidates defeated in the last state election in 2006. He lost the Bukit Assek seat to the state Opposition Leader Wong Ho Leng.

For Ngieng, Chinese voters cannot afford to be outside of the government as other communities would continue backing BN.

“The Chinese are very realistic, they know they have no choice but to be with the government. The election is a foregone conclusion — the Bumiputera, Melanau, Orang Ulu will support the government. Where do they want to stand?” he told The Malaysian Insider.

The Chinese make up only 26 per cent of the Sarawak population, but they reside mainly in urban, more developed regions of Malaysia’s largest state.

There are two Chinese SUPP ministers in the Sarawak Cabinet and five assistant ministers.

The current term of the Sarawak assembly expires in July next year and the government is expected to call for state election by the end of this year.

The opposition collectively won nine seats in 2006, seven of which are Chinese-majority.

DAP currently controls six seats in the 71-member state assembly while PKR has one.

Another Sarawak BN leader, Datuk Joseph Salang, shared Ngieng’s sentiment, but was confident that SUPP would not perform worse than in 2006.

“I doubt that the Chinese support is very low. That is just a perception, the reality on the ground is different, but of course, there will be no Chinese minister if all of them lose their seats,” said Salang who is also a PRS vice-president.

“Unlike in Sabah or the federal government, there is a provision for the appointment [of] Adun (assemblymen) or Senator who can be made minister, but there is no such provision in Sarawak,” said Salang who is also the federal deputy information minister.

Another state leader admitted that SUPP is facing a tough challenge in the coming election and its survival within the coalition is also at stake.

“SUPP will have to change their strategy. The political scenario has changed and things no longer work in their favour,” said the assistant minister who refused to be named.

Meanwhile, political analyst Dr Jeniri Amir doubted that the fear of losing Chinese representation in the government would influence voters from the community into backing BN.

“There is nothing new in this campaign; in the last state election they used the same tactic. But in 2006, the Chinese did not buy it because [of] other more important issues,” Jeniri told The Malaysian Insider.

“This time it is about the unhappiness against the chief minister. So the Chinese, urban voters know that even if the SUPP representation in the government is reduced or increased, the CM is still in control of everything,” he added.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has been in power for 29 years and is said to have been the source of discontent among urban voters for his alleged abuse of power. He said yesterday that he was undecided about standing for re-election.

“SUPP is seen to be weak and unable to protect the interests of the Chinese,” said Jeniri.

The Unimas lecturer said SUPP may have to rebrand itself to no longer be seen as an exclusively Chinese party.

“The party may have no choice but to nominate its Bidayuh leaders for Cabinet posts,” said Jeniri.

SUPP has two Bidayuh lawmakers in the state assembly. Last June the party made its sole Bidayuh parliamentarian Datuk Richard Riot the deputy foreign minister.