It looks like Sabah's political merry-go-round over the state's rotational chief ministership is a never ending episode. Liberal Democratic Party's Chong Kah Kiat may not be sworn in on Tuesday next week if there is an interim injunction from the court and until the case is fully disposed off.

But even before that, after Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional supremo Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced the retention of the rotational system, making Chong a surprise choice over a Kadazandusun-Murut (KDM), a great deal of unhappiness was clearly written on the faces of KDM leaders, especially those of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), led by former deputy chief minister Joseph Kurup.

Kurup made his and the party's displeasure at Mahathir's decision clear in no uncertain terms in a report carried on Tuesday in Sabah's English-language daily The Daily Express .

The newspaper's headline loudly proclaimed 'KDMs disappointed' with a front-page picture showing Kurup and several other party leaders, including an also disappointed Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who had earlier been tipped to take over from Umno's Osu Sukam, cutting the party's seventh anniversary cake.

'Countered smartly'

Kurup said the party was naturally disappointed that none of the KDM leaders had been picked but was also quick to blame this on what he described as the 'small and weak' voice of the community itself.

"I know not only are the PBRS members disappointed but the whole non-Muslim-Bumiputra community," he was quoted as saying, and that "after Umno's Osu Sukam it had been expected a KDM be appointed to steer the state government".

He described it as unfortunate that "the non-Muslim-Bumiputra, who make up some 40 percent of Sabah's population, have failed to gain the confidence of the leadership". He added they had, in fact, been sidelined.

"But for me, the failure has made me repent and realise where our weaknesses lie," he said, adding that it is his belief the same problem will persist into the future unless it is "countered smartly".

Kurup felt that the defections from opposition Parti Bersatu Sabah had created some negative thinking as they might have been seen as "chasing political posts in the state government".

"But they merely want to repay their constituents by giving them development that could only be gained through the Barisan Nasional," he said.

"We must double our efforts to become a more disciplined, organised and united political organisation," he added.

A shock

Meanwhile, DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang rapped the BN for what he called the "sidelining of the Kadazandusun-Murut community in the process of selecting the next chief minister".

In a statement issued in Kota Kinabalu, Lim said described it as "pathetic" the Kadazandusun-Muruts sidelining by the Barisan Nasional.

He said the BN's 2:1:1 formula on the system introduced last week was "unfair and contrary to the 1994 election pledge to provide equal opportunities to the Muslim Bumiputras, non-Muslim-Bumputras and Chinese to head the state government as chief minister."

He pointed out that Bernard Dompok, the leader of Upko, the other Kadazandusun-Murut based party, could only serve 10 months of the two-year term before the last state elections were held in 1999.

The DAP leader said Dompok, who is minister in the Prime Minister's Department, and other Kadazandusun leaders in the Barisan Nasional "dare not even ask for the completion of the outstanding 14-month term for a Kadazandusun chief minister under the BN manifesto".

"Although Dompok failed to defend his Moyog seat in the 1999 state elections, there is no reason why another Kadazandusun chief minister could not be appointed to complete the slot," according to Lim.

He said it must have come as something of a shock for the Kadazandusuns to have to wait at least another four years under the new formula, since Umno assumes the post after the tenure of Chong Kah Kiat expires in two years' time.

"Umno has taken an unfair advantage to deny the other BN component parties a fair and equitable power-sharing in Sabah," noted Lim.

Far from resolved

The latest focus of attention is now on the chief minister-designate and whether the swearing in at the official residence of the head of state will take place as scheduled on Tuesday after a group of three businessmen went to court to stop it.

It looks like the Sabah's political episode around the Mahathir's idea of rotating the chief minister's post among the three main indigenous groups is coming back to haunt him. Most observers think that the problem is far from resolved.

"The problems are probably compounding," the observers said, adding that the 'show' would begin with Mahathir's official visit to Sabah this weekend.

The other headline in the Daily Express was somewhat appropriate: 'Sabahans anxiously await Mahathir's visit'.

TONY THIEN is a freelance writer based in Kuching.