Bushmen in Sarawak.

 We are all engulfed by the election mood, and the next interesting election would be for the 71-seat State Assembly or Council Negeri of Sarawak.

The current term of the state assembly expires in late July.

As usual people start playing “games” and conspire at every turn of events.

Down and out in the Peninsula after having failed to deliver their March 2008 election promises the Opposition have been working hard for the assault on Sarawak.

The attack has been narrowed down on the leader for obvious reasons. They are up against a time-tested leader with an impeccable track record and huge dosages of political wisdom.

If you play a fair game, as it should be, the track record and the financial standing of the government of Sarawak alone would win majority support.

But then again, it would be naïve to expect fair play in politics. Especially when there are those who are desperate for political power.

Decades of economic supremacy have bred greed that knows no bounds, and now it hungers for political supremacy.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud 30 years at the helm is once again being propped as one of the voter’s main “issues”.  Is this really so?  

His purported wealth has been ‘exposed’, to the extend that Taib could be looking for an island to hide his Opposition-created wealth and valuables.

Going by Pakatan Rakyat’s aggressive accumulation of wealth for him, by the time the state assembly is dissolved, Taib Mahmud would have surpassed even Microsoft founder Bill Gates in terms of wealth.

On the surface they say Taib must go because he has been there long but everyone knows that the veteran politician is actually PR’s greatest stumbling block.

His politics of development has not only withstood the test of time but Taib, having served under all the Prime Ministers of Malaysia, has transformed Sarawak with his steely will. The results splashed everywhere that even the blind could see.

It’s Taib’s leadership and his wisdom in commanding the BN team that they fear most.  If you weaken the strongest link, the rest will crumble.

The incessant attacks and character assassination on Taib has the hands and brains of a big chunk of disgruntled politicians and some propaganda-savvy foreigners.

RadioFreeSarawak and Sarawak Report are just among their cowardly attempts. To a certain extend they created somewhat a ripple in the political circles but when the dust settled the Brown smelly thing and her puppydog came out on their own.

Attempts to hoodwink the people through those dubious channels of communications are nearing the end with the rural folks spitting on their old transistor radios that, they say, have been telling lies lately.

The enemies of the state  have tried almost anything and everything, not sparing personal matters, but to date Taib is simply unassailable. His greatest strength is the BN government’s track record in Sarawak.

Generally the people of Sarawak know that a bird in hand is better than two in the bush, even if the chameleon of a bushman claims to be “God sent” and promises two golden birds.

Unlike the previous elections, there seems to be direct foreign interference in the affairs of the Government of Sarawak now and the coming state elections.

This is a concerted effort to destabilise the state and unseat Taib and the move is fuelled by unfounded wild allegations.

    

Desperation, they say (wonder if they have actually said it), knows no bounds.   

No stones are left unturned to formulate sinister, at times subversive, moves to isolate, attack and weaken Taib Mahmud.

The patterns are similar to those employed during the 1998/99 Reformasi movement when the target was our then Prime Minister Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr.Mahathir Mohamad.

(For those of you old enough, try recalling the build up and all the slander, lies and defamation against Dr.Mahathir then)

Expectedly Opposition politicians have denied any links with the FDI (foreign direct interference) in Sarawak’s domestic affairs.  We shall let the people to exercise their wisdom on this.  

As their attempts fail one by one, the more subtle ones have started landing.

Latest, in Kuching and Kuala Lumpur, there are people going around spreading lies that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has withdrawn his support for Taib.

Basically it’s a desperate move to slip-in the idea that Najib is against Taib now, thus driving a blade deep into the heart of Barisan Nasional.

Its yet another sinister move aimed at weakening BN by creating a rift or at least to plant seeds of suspicion among the leaders and supporters.

An enemy divided is what they’re aspiring for now, especially when some among the BN are perceived to be weak and could easily turn their back in return greater power and position.

The PR leaders, in particular Anwar Ibrahim would admit that for as long as BN is united with Taib at the driver’s seat, they would be better of just protecting the 8 seats they have in hand.

The next tsunami could just take away the bird in PR’s hands, and the God-sent bushman would be nowhere to be seen...his drums never to be heard in the open again.

p/s Naming a successor is pertinent but, having travelled the arduous tracks and terrains since before Sarawak helped form Malaysia in 1963, I’m sure the tactful Taib has the necessary experience, understanding, and political wisdom to pick the right person at an appropriate time.