Sarawak, the largest state in the country, will have a new chief minister come March, but questions are being asked as to whether Adenan Satem, announced to take over from long-time Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, will be able to do things his way.

Adenan's appointment is expected to be swiftly followed by Taib ascending to the post of state governor after serving 33 years as chief minister.

Given the close relationship of the two - Adenan's former wife is Taib's sister - and the fact that Adenan was known as a close confidant and advisor to Taib when the latter faced a leadership challenge in 1987, there are doubts as to whether Adenan will have the freedom to change certain state policies.

Political analyst Dr Jeniri Amir from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) told Malaysiakini that the concern now was if Adenan can be truly independent in his policies.

"As long as Taib is there as governor, there might not be room for Adenan to manoeuvre," Jeniri said, pointing out that state leaders would try to avoid a clash between the CM and governor at all costs.

The last time there was a collision between the CM and the governor, ironically, was in 1987 when Taib was CM and his uncle, Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, was the governor.

A bdul Rahman had served as chief minister for 11 years before paving way for Taib in 1981 to become governor, and despite their close relation, political fissure appeared soon after.

Taib sought to remove Abdul Rahman as governor in 1986, and this led to the infamous Ming Court affair a year later, when the latter tried to get state lawmakers sign a motion of no confidence against Taib.

Taib, under Adenan's advice then, called for snap elections and won enough seats to form the state government to remain CM.

"They would want to avoid something like this from happening again," Jeniri pointed out.

All close friends

The Unimas senior lecturer also ruled out the possibility of infighting in Parti Bersaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), which Taib currently leads, as the result of Taib's preference for Adenan over other more senior party leaders - Awang Tengah Ali Husin and Abang Johari Openg.

"I don't believe there will be a crisis in the party, they are all very experienced politicians and have been around for at least 20 years," he said.

"They are also close friends. Johari and Adenan were together before the 1998 party elections when both contested for the same spot. They know better than to rock the boat," he added.

He also does not foresee a major problem if Adenan, who is currently party information chief, is not elected as the party president in the next party elections.

In such eventuality, the new PBB president, expected to be either Johari or Awang Tengah, would want to be appointed as CM.

"They will have some kind of understanding. A good leader will know how to compromise. They will know how to balance things between each other (CM and governor)," Jenairi said.