As expected, with the 14th General election, the parliamentary election for Sarawak, around the corner, some people including politicians expect the election to be held in November while others predict that it will be held in January, 2018, lobbying to be candidates have been very active particularly in urban and sub-urban constituencies.
Understandably, lobbying for seats and candidates in urban areas is expected mainly due to rivalry on the side of Barisan Nasional between its component member SUPP and Barisan Nasional’s friendly party United People’s Party (UPP). Those in UPP are not only lobbying to be candidate of the party but more importantly as Barisan Nasional’s censored candidate.
There was an earlier excitement in Party Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) in responding to the expressed wishes of the President, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. James Jemut Masing to nominate a woman candidate to contest in one of the six Parliamentary constituencies that it is holding namely Sri Aman, Lubok Antu, Julau, Kanowit, Selangau and Ulu Rajang. Apparently, none of the incumbents were prepared to give way. It is a stalemate and a hard decision has to be made.
The People Democratic Party (PDP) will still have to deal with Tan Sri Dato William Mawan Ikom, its former President and the incumbent Member of Parliament for Saratok, before it can nominate a candidate to officially represent Barisan Nasional in the constituency.
The party’s seat of Mas Gading appears to be quite stable with its first – term Member of Parliament, Datuk Anthony Nogeh Gumbek being quite active as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries especially in promoting Bau to be the hub of “Musang King” while Bintulu is being represented by the President Dato Seri Tiong King Sing.
The party’s risk area is still Baram in view of the volatility of the electorate, which has the history of electing an Independent Member of Parliament or an opposition State Assemblyman. The Constituency, comprising Marudi, Telang Usan and Mulu, to a certain extent is still a hotbed of unfriendly NGOs. It even hosted an internationally renowned idiot Bruno Manser, a Swiss.
The State Government has to impose a moratorium on the proposed construction of hydroelectricity dam in Ulu Baram, a prerequisite for the development of Telang Usan new township, due to relentless campaign by some NGOs in the area to go against it in the name of environment. The current Member of Parliament, Encik Anyie Ngau scrapped through in the last election with a small majority.
Generally, there is little lobbying to be candidates in Parliamentary constituencies being represented by Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), which is the backbone of Barisan Nasional Sarawak. The strength, credibility and influence of the party, derived from the fact that it is loyal to members and the members reciprocate the loyalty, can become a model for others to follow.
The party has the mechanism to identify and recognise loyal and hardworking members. It is on this basis a member is being nominated as an election candidate either a parliamentary candidate or a candidate for election to the State legislative Assembly. It is also the basis to choose good and hard working members for other political appointments.
Obviously, the enthusiasm shown by several individuals comprising academicians, businessmen and erratic civil servants to project themselves as potential candidates for Puncak Borneo Parliamentary Constituency, is outdated and out of place, probably out of ignorance or arrogance.
The days of going around telling people of personal achievements or aggrandizements in the 60s and early 70s might hold the people in awe. But now in the time and age of people knowing about the roles and services of the elected representatives either as Member of Parliament or State Legislator, the exercise is outdated and futile.
Generally, the people will ask so what if you are successful businessmen, successful human right activists, or academicians; what is there for me or what have you done for the people or the constituency? They will value the services of people, who have been working very hard, for example, in helping them to do the perimeter survey of their land as being emphasized by the Government.
Puncak Borneo Parliamentary constituency is one of the 14 constituencies allocated to PBB; it is a PBB seat period. The party, a well organized and disciplined party normally nominates members, who have been loyal and hardworking and are well liked by the people on the ground in their respective constituencies.
Puncak Borneo Parliamentary constituency, formerly Mambong, comprises Tarat, Mambong (formerly Bengoh) and Serumbu. Tarat and Serumbu are represented by PBB while Mambong by Datuk Dr Jerip Susil of UPP.
The President of PBB from 1981 – 2014, Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud (now Tun Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, the reigning Governor of Sarawak) in his speech during the last Triennial General Assembly of the party in 2010, said in every election, the party nominates new people with talents, after the party is satisfied with their performances and convinced of their potentials to be groomed as future leaders, to contest. Normally, the party nominates members, who are well liked by the people on the ground in their respective constituencies..
Some of them, after realizing that they have been serving their constituencies for some time, are prepared to give way to others to take over from them. The readiness of the incumbents to give way to new people depicts a very good political culture that others should follow.
PBB, conscious of the need to bring about changes with the emergence of the changing generations in every election, looks after the welfare of the past leaders. It does not allow them to be left on their own. The practice is being preserved as the culture of PBB in looking after the welfare and interests of members.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib said members of PBB, which serves as the backbone of State Barisan Nasional, with their experience in bringing the people up to the middle income economy, must be prepared to use the party machinery to guide the people in the development of the High Income Economy.
In this regards, they must help the people to realize the importance of working together in facing the challenges of the new economic model towards the year 2020 and beyond. Obviously, conscientious efforts must be made to garner or marshal the people to share a common aim and learn to co-operate in the continuous development of the economy.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib said the process must never stop even if the objectives have been met because the higher the economy goes up, the more success that the people want to achieve; generally the people can never be satisfied with what they have already achieved.
He said efforts to attain the status of a developed state with high income economy will be a challenging one; the model of high income economic development will be the most difficult to develop. Hence, the party machinery must be activated for the purpose.
However, he believed with the ability to co-operate and work together, the small businesses can grow to become medium and big enterprises in the process. The implementation of the new economics model, now in the initial stage, will be intensified to ensure success in future.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib said the party had acquired vast experience through organizing varied activities like merging Parti Berjasa with Parti Negara to form Parti Bumiputra and later Parti Bumiputra with Parti Pesaka to form PBB.
More importantly, the party has been using its vast experience to build up discipline of members to such an extent they observe certain discipline and decorum even in contesting for higher party posts; they refrain from quarrelling unnecessarily.
He said the party’s ability to maintain certain discipline and observe certain decorum in carrying out political activities must be enriched in the continuous struggle to rise the economy to the level of High Income Economy.
In this connection, members of the Youth Wing must continue to play the roles of front liners in the struggle to bring about changes that can bring about benefits to the people; those being carried out too fast and without proper direction will not benefit the people.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib said party elders can continue to use their experiences, which have gone through trials and tests of time, in carrying out their duties and responsibilities in guiding members to move in the same direction and not be derailed on the way.
He said the culture of upholding certain discipline and observing certain decorum in carrying out party activities will enable members to overcome bigger challenges in developing the High Income Economy. In other words, they should be able to succeed as long as they remain steadfast in upholding their discipline and culture.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib said he allowed members to contest for posts in the party provided they can keep the contests friendly and not too fierce as if they do not belong to the same party. There must be limits to what they can do in the contests. More importantly, they must observe rules in the contest so that they do not give impressions to others that they have fierce fights in the party.
Instead, they must show to others that the unity of the party remains intact. Contests in party elections are normal things to ensure that the doors are not close to people with talents, new ideas and vision and the necessity to train young people to become adult members of the party.
However, members must decide to contest party posts based on their own capability to carry out jobs relating to the posts in order to move the party forward. For example, to contest for the post of the president, it is advisable that members must have sufficient experience and knowledge of the working of the government before deciding to go for it.
They must know what to do with the post. If they do not know what to do next after getting the post, do not have sufficient experience and knowledge working of the government, they can be equated to performances of members of the opposition who speak just to make noises.
In the process, they expose their own ignorance of how the systems work in the government. They can be equated to inexperienced drivers, who tend to drive very fast without learning how to drive first.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib said PBB has been able to do very well in the services of the people, State and country because it knows what to do when the trust and responsibility are entrusted upon it. The best among the members should be spared of the troubles to think of how to win in party elections.
He said a number of corporate figures including numerous small ones, engineers, lawyers, and accountants have been enlisted as members of PBB and should be able to develop the thinking on ways to develop the economy of the State.
