We remain essentially a nation under siege.
– Theodore C. Sorensen, American lawyer
The political trench warfare is still in full swing in Malaya.
The battle lines have hardly moved. A few inches gained in a day are lost the next day.
This political war of attrition is still causing much turmoil and roiling around, causing social and economic distress. By extension, we in Sabah and Sarawak also feel the adverse effects.
The ongoing and constant price hikes in essential goods and services carry on harming people. Some in the M40 economic grouping have fallen into the B40 category. Other M40’s fear they might slip into B40.
Unfortunately, the B40 group have slipped further down the economic ladder and faces even more hardship. The average person on the street has been the most affected.
The federal government has so far been unable to manage the drastic increase in the cost of living.
While the over-bloated federal cabinet (in more than one-way) has been struggling to manage inflation, the ordinary folks have been asked to tighten their belts.
Most people still do not see any light at the end of the tunnel. I wonder if a general election now will help to resolve the matter.
Our 9th Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been tenuously holding on to his premiership seat since August 16 2021. His tumultuous 365 days in office are coming up soon. He is still facing many distractions from his duties.
Recently, the claim on Sabah by the Philippines and the Sultanate of Sulu has again come to the forefront.
The sultanate was apparently founded in 1405 by a Johore-born explorer and religious scholar, Sharif ul-Hashim. Subsequently, they lost their lands via some agreements with business interests and colonial powers.
The Malaysian embassy in the Philippines had been issuing an RM5,300 cheque annually to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu as “cession payment” for Sabah.
In 2013, Malaysia stopped the payments. The reason is that the 2013 attempted invasion of Sabah by the descendants of the sultanate was a violation of the 1903 Confirmation of Cession agreement and its earlier 1878 agreement.
However, in February 2022, an alleged international court ruled that Malaysia had violated the treaty signed in 1878 and would have to pay at least US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) to the descendants of the Sulu sultan.
It appears the Malaysian government and PETRONAS did not pay much attention to this matter.
Subsequently, this month the court bailiffs in Luxembourg served Petronas Azerbaijan (Shah Denis) and Petronas South Caucus with a seizure order of assets on behalf of descendants of the Sulu sultan.
Only then was there a flurry of activities to protect Malaysia’s interest. Another example of the carelessness and neglect of Sabah’s territory. This is still an evolving drama.
Many also cite Sri Lanka as an example of Malaysia’s direction. Sri Lanka owes more than $51 billion (£39 billion) to foreign lenders, including $6.5 billion to China. In May this year, it failed to make an interest payment on its foreign debt for the first time in its history.
The blame has fallen on President Rajapaksa’s poor economic mismanagement and corruption. Recently protesters stormed his office. He resigned after fleeing to Singapore, leaving Sri Lanka in financial ruin and a distressed population. Indeed a scary scenario for us here.
Between all the intrigue within the present PN coalition government, there is also the internal issues within UMNO for the PM to contend with. Due to possible ROS issues on the horizon, we might soon see party elections.
Many have pressed the PM to dissolve Parliament before the economy worsens and the electorate gets angrier. Will the mounting pressure from within his party, the coalition partners, the opposition and the rakyat cause the PM to buckle?
The end of the MOU signed between the government and the opposition last September that Parliament could not be dissolved before July 31 this year is on the horizon. This expiry might trigger GE15 soon.
However, I would also speculate that a delay in calling for an election would allow Pakatan Harapan to re-strategise and regroup. This is especially true due to the re-entry of Rafizi Ramli into PKR.
If his newly elected ‘faction’ within PKR can convince Anwar to not champion himself as the incoming prime minister and retire gracefully PH might gain more traction with the electorate. If Parliament goes the full five-year term, it will give PKR the much needed time.
The stress on this ‘accidental’ Prime Minister Ismail must be immense. The nature of fractious, self-serving and ever-ready frogging MPs has created much volatility in Malaya. This, of course, affects us here in Sarawak.
It is a lesson we in Sarawak need to observe. Politics, by its very nature, do have its twists and turns.
I am sure you would not want Sarawak to be in a Gordian knot as Malaya finds itself – under siege.
Let all our thousands of hands work towards our thousands of hopes.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
