LETTER | Last Saturday saw the official launch of the rebranded four-party ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) which broke off from BN in the aftermath of GE14.

Some 8,000 loyalists thronged the Sarawak Indoor Stadium as leaders of Parti Pesaka Bumiputra (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) spelt out their joint mission and unveiled the GPS logo.

Organising chairperson Douglas Uggah, one of three deputy chief ministers, described the proceedings as “perfect.” But it took only three days for the carefully orchestrated show of unity to suffer its first crack.

Strangely, the first salvo fired against the fledgeling coalition came not from Pakatan Harapan but PRS president James Masing (above). Masing, who is also a deputy chief minister, was present at the GPS launch and even delivered a rousing speech.

But on Tuesday he surprised everyone by openly calling on all four component parties to sit down and decide “the best leader to lead Sarawak.”

That flies in the face of GPS chairperson and chief minister Abang Johari Openg. Abang Johari is president of PBB, the dominant party in the coalition. The party, which combines Malay and Dayak members, holds over 40 of GPS’s 72 seats in the 82-member state assembly.

This resulted from the last state election held in 2016. State elections in Sarawak are held separately from the general election.

Masing is not new to controversy. The seasoned politician is famously outspoken and not short on ambition. He first became a state assemblyperson on a PBDS ticket in 1983. His bid to challenge incumbent Daniel Tajem for the party presidency in 2003 led to a split and eventual dissolution of the party.

Soon after PRS was established in 2004, Masing ousted the party co-founder to assume undisputed leadership. The eight-term state assemblyperson was first appointed to the state cabinet in 1994. He rose to become a senior minister before being appointed deputy chief minister in 2016.

The chief minister’s post has been the preserve of PBB for 45 years. The four chief ministers since 1974 have all been Malay-Muslims.

Making Tuesday’s call to pick Sarawak’s best leader, Masing added: “And let’s not look at race and religion.” Those who merely look at race and religion as the main criteria to be the leader and chief minister of Sarawak, he said, are being emotional.

He continued: “If you do that, it is not good for Sarawak as a multi-racial society. That’s how I see it as I grow older. Now I see things differently.”

The PRS leader, reportedly ill of late, will be 70 in two months. Abang Johari is slightly younger. Uggah and the third deputy chief minister Awang Tengah, both from PBB, are 62 and 63 respectively.

It does not take much for detractors to interpret Masing’s latest outburst as coming from a desperate veteran who is running out of time. His all-Dayak party entered GE14 with six candidates, lost three and emerged with only three MPs. PBB lost one but won the other 13.

Is Masing standing up to dare PBB to either take him seriously or take action against him? At the same time, could he be making a pitch to Harapan which in the past had promised a Dayak chief minister if they take over the Sarawak government?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.