Far too many people are looking for the right person instead of trying to be the right person.
– Goria Steinem, American activist
At the outset, let me be fair to Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) which he heads.
I must state categorically that Wong has every right to form a political party and contest in any seat and in as many elections as he wishes. That is his democratic right which should not be denied him and one which we should all respect.
Having said that, I also must say that all politicians holding public office are fair game to me. They are subject to public scrutiny and hence, fall under my radar as a political critique.
Let me declare again that I’m not in the business of pleasing politicians. All public servants who are paid from the public coffers can expect to be criticised if they are non-performers.
I have also criticised top national leaders like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, among others. I have also stated that I do not trust them even though they might be prime ministers. This is what I mean by “politicians are fair game” to me.
On the PSB president, let me say that I’ve met Wong several times, even before he entered politics in the early 80’s in Sibu. So I would consider him an acquaintance. I have not seen him in person for a good number of years now.
If the veteran politician were to claim that I’m a stranger to him, it really doesn’t matter. I’m not known to hang around VIPs and ministers too.
After not less than three decades in government, I honestly find it difficult to imagine the former minister, Wong, as the opposition leader in Sarawak.
I do not think Wong is suitable playing a role in the opposition. He has always been a government man, raising at the top of his voice in the past everything wrong about the opposition.
To be honest, I feel sorry for Wong that he has been forced into a corner, more by his own undoing than anything else, to fight a losing battle against the very government he was once a part of. Last December’s polls in Sarawak is a case in point.
Yes, I empathise with Wong, particularly so when he is now an elderly man at 80. Any person at that age would have better things to do than to continue indulging in politics.
Of course, there is that big ego to massage too. To those used to a very public life, it’s very difficult to retreat to one of normalcy. So, it must feel great to be a public figure and be seen and addressed as a VIP. That’s something many wish to take to their grave, politicians being top in that category.
Wong now eyes the Bandar Sibu parliamentary seat, declaring that he is the best person to represent Sibu in Parliament. He seems to think so and that he is answering the call of his party members to contest.
Let me say it as it is now. What baloney and what a self-centred person! Only he, himself is important. The rest in PSB do not matter, or so it seems. Is PSB a party only for one man?
It is a fact that DAP had refused to give way to Wong to contest the Bandar Sibu seat, so he called off negotiations with DAP.
If DAP were to ask Wong to let them contest Bawan Assan, will he let the DAP have his seat? What are we talking about here – sharing chickens and eggs?
I have to state this too for a fact. Wong had it so good in the government for so many years because of SUPP. When he encountered problems which prevented him from becoming the SUPP president, Wong even attempted to take the party to court and almost got it deregistered.
SUPP is Sarawak’s oldest political party with a long history. Wong benefitted as a politician because of SUPP and I consider his act of betrayal towards the party unforgivable.
If Wong had issues then with former party presidents, Tan Sri Dr George Chan or Tan Sri Peter Chin, he should have taken up the matter with them and confronted them, even head-on. There was no need to destroy SUPP.
This is Wong’s greatest mistake and one which many in SUPP saw as the highest degree of disservice to the very party which gave him so much.
For this alone, come GE15, if I were a voter in Bandar Sibu I don’t think I will turn up at the polling station to vote for the PSB president, Wong Soon Koh.
I’ll probably choose to take out my fishing rods on polling day, sit by the Pulau Babi wharf and angle for some catch to barbeque later.
I will certainly not be voting for the same people. No, never!
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
