COMMENT | Traitors from Malaya, don't waste time in Sabah
COMMENT | I stand in total agreement with two Sabah academics when they advised certain federal ministers not to waste their time campaigning for Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the land below the wind.
Why? Because “nobody cares” about their presence and they have zero influence in Sabah, they explained.
The duo, Universiti Teknologi Mara Sabah lecturer Rahezzal Shah Abdul Karim and Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, are known political analysts, and being locals, I believe they know what they are talking about.
I do not intend to sound like a Borneo parochial but let’s give it to their better judgment because being Sabahans, the two academics should understand local sentiments better.
In the same fashion, I would not dare stake a claim that I know and understand better how the people of Kelantan and Terengganu, for example, perceive politics. They should know better.
Commenting on the recent visits by federal ministers Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin to Sabah, Rahezzal said both former PKR leaders did not make an impact, nor did their visit give an advantage to any party.
Neither Azmin nor Zuraida were big names in Sabah and if their intention was to garner votes, it would not work, Rahezzal was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.
“We know he (Azmin) came to Sabah before to campaign for Pakatan Harapan in the Kimanis by-election, but he didn’t draw the crowd,” he added.
Meanwhile, Lee expressed his concern that in the run-up to the state election, federal politics will...
COMMENT | I stand in total agreement with two Sabah academics when they advised certain federal ministers not to waste their time campaigning for Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the land below the wind.
Why? Because “nobody cares” about their presence and they have zero influence in Sabah, they explained.
The duo, Universiti Teknologi Mara Sabah lecturer Rahezzal Shah Abdul Karim and Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, are known political analysts, and being locals, I believe they know what they are talking about.
I do not intend to sound like a Borneo parochial but let’s give it to their better judgment because being Sabahans, the two academics should understand local sentiments better.
In the same fashion, I would not dare stake a claim that I know and understand better how the people of Kelantan and Terengganu, for example, perceive politics. They should know better.
Commenting on the recent visits by federal ministers Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin to Sabah, Rahezzal said both former PKR leaders did not make an impact, nor did their visit give an advantage to any party.
Neither Azmin nor Zuraida were big names in Sabah and if their intention was to garner votes, it would not work, Rahezzal was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.
“We know he (Azmin) came to Sabah before to campaign for Pakatan Harapan in the Kimanis by-election, but he didn’t draw the crowd,” he added.
Meanwhile, Lee expressed his concern that in the run-up to the state election, federal politics will overshadow local issues once federal leaders start descending on Sabah.
“The Peninsular political agenda should remain there and the local issues, particularly Sabah’s rights and socio-economic development should be the focus of this state election.”
Lee added that Azmin and Zuraida were also not as popular as other federal personalities and shared Rahezzal’s sentiments that the two ministers would have little impact.
There is one thing I am confident to state here. Sabahans, like many Malaysians, are still furious with deserters and traitors who hijacked the Harapan government in February this year.
They have not forgotten nor forgiven those responsible and Azmin and Zuraida were among those who stood out for their betrayal.
It is not only Sabahans who wanted to teach the two PKR turncoats a lesson they will not forget but also their former colleagues in the party who have vowed to send them packing in Gombak and Ampang come the next general election.
So, let me advise those traitors from Malaya - don’t waste your time and energy in Sabah. Like Rahezzal had declared – “nobody cares about your presence”.
Politicians who are considered “despised characters” are of no help to their coalition. In fact, they are liabilities. If I were a PN candidate, I wouldn’t want such characters around me or to campaign for me in my constituency.
Talking of liability, there are political leaders who refuse to concede that they are no longer needed by their party or coalition, nor wanted by the electorate. They have become “stale” after being in power for too long.
I can recall in the 2011 Sarawak election, BN had wisely stopped using former Sarawak chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud's image in posters, banners and billboards. This came about after BN’s disastrous outings in the 2006 state polls and 2008 parliamentary elections in Sarawak.
There must have been a general consensus within the state BN that “Taib does not sell anymore in Sarawak”. For his alleged abuse of power during his long 33-year tenure as chief minister, Sarawakians and in particular the urban voters, had come to distrust their chief minister.
Taib eventually stepped down from the top state post in 2014 and moved into the Astana as governor. His successor, the much revered Adenan Satem managed to swing the urban voters back to BN in the 2016 polls.
In my Feb 5 article here, barely three weeks before the Sheraton putsch, I also weighed in on the liability I saw in former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
I had agreed with my journalist friend who described Mahathir as a liability to Harapan in Sarawak because “he has reverted to his old, dictatorial style, showing little or no respect for his Harapan partners and refusing to step down after his interim two-year premiership”.
Sarawakians have no love for Umno and Mahathir is now behaving like the typical Umno racist whom we all detest, I said then, adding that an unpopular leader at the helm of Harapan will be no help to its Sarawak chapter going into the state election.
Previously, Sabahans and Sarawakians have always been wary of racists, bigots and extremists from Malaya. Today, we have to include another category – deserters, traitors and frogs.
Some politicians in Borneo must also be blamed for succumbing easily to the “frog culture” perpetuated by their counterparts in Malaya.
In the coming state polls, Sabahans must also reject these soldiers of fortune and send them packing to where they rightfully belong – in the dustbin of political history.
FRANCIS PAUL SIAH heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS), and can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
