COMMENT Political spheres of both sides grew uneasy with Sarawak’s political development as it drifted further into the unchartered territory of unheard symbolism and lingo.

The Umno old guards are already riled up against most of Chief Minister Adenan Satem’s stance - either on the position of Sarawak within the federation or the usage of the English language. Pakatan federal leaders, on the other hand, are still hissing over Sarawak’s decision to ban several prominent opposition leaders from West Malaysia - missing the point entirely by harping on freedom of expression.

Meanwhile in Sarawak, a new force rising from the populace has changed the political battlefront into one that is distinctly Sarawakian in nature. If Sarawak BN is a thin flaking blue glaze that covers a different set of political parties and ideologies as compared to the BN in West Malaysia, then the support for the opposition is a thin red glaze that camouflages the population’s dissent against the ruling government’s policy that affected Sarawak.