How is Sun Tzu's writing relevant to us? A general election is like any war - the contestants in the polls must win the hearts and minds of the voters. Indeed, they can all learn something from Sun Tzu’s immortal work, ‘The Art of War’.

“Know your enemy and you can win a hundred battles,” said Sun Tzu. The Sarawak election is no different from a military battlefield, for the players with the most intimate knowledge of their opponents would enjoy a huge advantage over them.

It is a truism that information is power. In any general election, all players will try their best to dig up information on their opponents' campaign tactics and accumulate secret information on rivals to exploit. At the height of election fever, contesting parties will try their best to infiltrate enemy camps using a collection of agents and informants.

In these covert operations, the BN enjoys a tremendous, and unfair, advantage. The party has at its disposal a vast array of government agencies. Civil servants are tasked with collecting as much information as possible about the situation on the ground and feeding it to the top leadership of the BN.

In this, the Special Branch plays a pivotal role as the agency collates all kinds of critical information about the response of the rakyat to the various parties, the strength of the individual candidates and the sentiment of the voters. The rank-and-file of the Special Branch make daily, detailed reports to the top brass on the undercurrents of voters' feelings. Naturally, the Special Branch share this information with their political masters.

In this way, the top politicians in BN will have regular, intricate reports of the ups and downs in the level of support among voters. They can take pro-active measures to shore up weaknesses in their political base by relocating resources and public relations to certain crucial areas.

I have been aware of these clandestine methods at the disposal of the BN since very early on in my involvement in politics. Nothing is truly completely secret in this world, and since the Special Branch operations involve large numbers of officers, it is hard to keep their operations from public view at all times. Information gathering was a common practice during my time, and I am certain it has remained so after my retirement from public office.   

Apart from the Special Branch, the state Information Department is also roped in to collect data on the response of the grassroots to the various parties. They too make their daily reports to their superiors.

The Special Branch and Information Department were once tasked with the mission to gather information from the public as part of their strategy to fight the communist insurgency. But after the end of the Cold War, both of these government agencies turned their attention towards repressing dissent at all levels. They have become the eyes and ears of the ruling party.

I also understand that even the military has an 'intelligence' branch for the gathering of sensitive political information, though it keeps a low and secretive profile.

Some discontent among rural voters

The principle of free and fair elections is that no political party should enjoy an unfair advantage over their opponents. All electoral battles must be fought on an even keel.  

The kind of information provided by the Special Branch and the Information Department, made available exclusively to the ruling party, violates this principal of equality at the polls. This practice must be stopped. All competing parties must enjoy equality of information, a level-playing field, equally ignorant about what other political parties are doing.

I have a strange feeling that the upcoming state election will surprise Sarawakians in more ways than one. Although a tsunami is unlikely, it is hard to imagine that it is going to be ‘business as usual’ in the hearts and minds of the voters. The BN government will probably still be standing at the end of the campaign, but it is unlikely to enjoy overwhelming support from voters as before.

More seats are going to fall to the opposition, especially among the Chinese-majority constituencies. Obviously, the Chinese are angry over poor governance and are better informed compared to rural Sarawakians. It is clear that the urban voters are determined to make a difference in this coming election.

I also smell some discontent among the rural voters over broken promises of development and the loss of their ancestral land, and this may translate into votes for the opposition in a limited number of rural seats.

We do not have long to wait for the answers to our speculations. All will be revealed on the night of April 16. Make sure all of you Sarawakians go out to vote on polling day and exercise your franchise according to your conscience.

 

 

 

SIM KWANG YANG was member of parliament for Bandar Kuching, Sarawak from 1982 to 1995. He can be reached at sky8hornbill@gmail.com. All comments are welcomed.