Quality Leadership wins elections - The Sarawakian experience

by Sebanaku Sarawak

Sarawak Politics have been through a flux since the 2011 state elections until now.  The 2011 state elections gave a clear mandate to BN Sarawak to govern Sarawak.  It has especially given PBB the mandate to rule Sarawak by returning 100% of its candidates.  During the evening of the state election return coming through the media, UMNO Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin was disingenous at best but more than likely malicious when he tweeted, "Putrajaya we have a problem".  Being the very heavily anglo-american influenced person that he is he was making comparison between the election result in Sarawak to the Apollo 13 when it radioed Houston Control that it was facing technical difficulties.  He was also audio recorded to have said in a Betong speaking engagement that YAB Pehin Sri Taib Mahmud will leave office by hook or crook.

BN suffered a huge and shocking loss of seats in the 2008 parliamentary and peninsular state elections (Sabah also had state election but BN Sabah won a resounding victory).  Not only was that election led by Khairy Jamaluddin father in law Tun Abdullah Badawi (the then Prime Minister) but it was well known that Khairy changed 20% of the UMNO candidates at the last minute to place 'his' candidates instead of the more established candidates.  The result was UMNO lost states like Perak and Selangor which has never been lost since the inception of UMNO.  So if Khairy Jamaluddin can refer to PBB President YAB Pehin Sri Taib Mahmud winning 100% of seats contested as "a problem" then his father in law performance (although masterminded by Khairy Jamaluddin) in 2008 was a complete catastrophe.  Perhaps if and when UMNO win 100% of the seats it contest then perhaps Khairy Jamaluddin can comment and meddle(he has been coordinating with certain PBB leaders to destroy PBB and bring UMNO to Sarawak) in Sarawak.

UMNO Secretary General Tengku Adnan Mansor has been having a 'keen interest' in Sarawak for the past few years.  Unfortunately the 'keen interest' is not so much to help BN Sarawak but more to get business contracts and meddle in Sarawak affairs.  Being BN National Secretary General he has taken it upon himself to make life difficult for BN component parties in Sarawak.  He famously shrugged off all Sarawak state leaders efforts at the Sibu by election of 2010 by famously saying to a few senior BN leaders in the campaign room of RH Hotel, "you all don't know anything (this coming from a west malaysian speaking to senior born and bred Sarawakian leaders), I will win this".  The result was BN lost the seat to DAP (it was a BN seat before the by election).

This is just two of the more pleasant experience that Sarawak has had with certain UMNO personalities.  Unfortunately there are many more 'less than pleasant' experiences that is best not to resuscitate. There are sincere and hard working UMNO leaders like Deputy Minister YB Datuk Haji Ahmad Bin Haji Mazlan who really helps Sarawak and BN as a whole.  We in Sarawak need more people like this.

Sarawak has been blessed with a long period of political stability.  The quality of its leadership has been proven by the test of time.  Thank God Sarawak stands calm in the sea of less than stable national politics.

At the end of the day rhetoric, loud speeches and even incumbency may not win elections.  Its quality leadership.