Generally, the people see Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to hold nationwide protests just like those being held at Kelana Jaya indoor stadium based on his allegation that the 13th General election is fraud more as self-serving rather than anything else due to his failure to become the Prime Minister.
It was the view of the Police that the rally at Kelana Jaya was illegal as it did not follow the procedure to hold peaceful rally in a controlled area. For example, the Police only knew about it few hours before the rally though it is mandated that the period should be 10 days before the actual event.
Understandably, Anwar finds it difficult to accept the defeat with honor as he had been telling the foreign media, prior to the election, that he would be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia. Interviewed by BBC after casting his votes at Pematang Pauh, he again claimed that he would be given the mandate to form the next government. Obviously, he had to look for excuses for his presumptuous and false prediction.
But with due respect to him, he was not the only one. Lim Kit Siang, DAP’s supremo boasted, after visiting Kuching, Sibu and Miri in Sarawak and Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan in Sabah, where he received very good reception, that Pakatan would form the next government after the 13th General Election.
Of course, he did not realise or he could be ignorant of the fact that Kuching, Sibu and Miri alone could not be Sarawak, nor could Kota Kinabalu and
Sandakan alone be Sabah.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to hold nationwide protest looks more awkward as Lim Guan Eng (DAP) was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Pulau Pinang and Datuk Ahmad Yakob (PAS) was sworn in as Menteri Besar Kelantan. Their appointments actually validated the election results.
Generally, the people concur with the Prime Minister, Dato Seri Mohd. Najib, who considers that it is weird for Anwar to have accepted the election results at the state level but questions them at the Federal level. It is only right that if they cannot accept some results, they should not accept them all. The question is why accept the results at state level and question those at the Federal level; Anwar is making selective acceptance of election results.
It is a fallacy to claims the electoral fraud based on the popular votes. It may be true that Pakatan has won more than 50% of the popular votes against Barisan Nasional, 46.8%. But our system is based on constituencies. It is like in
where the results are not based on the popular votes, it is based on the Electoral College. America
People can still remember that President George Bush was elected for his first term in his office based on the majority of the electoral colleges and not popular votes. His rival then Vice President Al Gore got more than 1 million popular votes than him but less electoral colleges. If Anwar wants popular votes then he should go for a presidential system. Ours is not a presidential system, it is based on the parliamentary constituencies.
Apparently, urban voters had been desperate to be in Putrajaya that they were blinded to what the Barisan Nasional led government had done for them over the years. Their obsession to be in control Malaysian political landscape had rendered them incapable of saying thank you for things being done for them. The rural folk still maintain this human decency and hence they don’t bite the hands them.
Chief Minister, Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, in his speech to start work on the bridge at Nanga Dap in Baleh, Ulu Kapit, says the bridge to connect the road from Ulu Tatau to Nanga Merit in a remote and inaccessible area is by itself a very significant project. This kind of development may not take place in other countries but it can be carried out in
Sarawak as the State government has a long –term plan for any major development project with the objective to move the people forward and improve their standard of living.
The State government has two reasons to build the road. Firstly, it will make the area more accessible with the development of the hydro dam. The power to be generated by Bakun hydro dam will be insufficient to power the industrial development program. Therefore, the State government has to build two more dams, one in Ulu Baram and the other one at Baleh for the purpose.
Besides, the road, when completed, will be able to push development to more remote areas in the hinterlands in order to transform them from backward areas to become more modern and attractive place with the potential to attract young people with good education, knowledge and skills to stay and work in their own areas.
The State government, with the support and co-operation of the Federal government has been able to build roads more than 28,000 KMs of R3 and R5 types of roads throughout its nooks and corners since
. Besides, the state government has also been building access roads to most of the more than 5,000 settlements comprising of longhouses and traditional villages during the same period. Independence
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib says with a good network of roads, the State has been able to open up more than 1 million hectares of land for oil palm estates in the overall efforts to increase the state’s wealth. The Barisan Nasional - led government has the vision in planning for the development in order to prepare the people to adapt to changes that will come out in the process.
He is happy that
Sarawak, whatever the opposition say about it, has been able to accumulate sufficient expertise, knowledge and experience to undertake more sophisticated and challenging development in the transformation from the medium income to high income economy towards the year 2020 and beyond.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib says
Sarawak decided to join to form the Federation of Malaysia with the knowledge that it could share the bigger economy and it could request the Federal government for support and co-operation to build the economy. For this reason, during the last 50 years, Sarawak has been able to push development to remote and isolated areas.
He believes the Barisan Nasional- led State government, with its track record of service in serving the people, State and country will be able to push further the socio – economic development of
Sarawak to more remote and difficult areas in the near future.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib says the State government, through the recommendation of the Minister of Land Development, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. James Masing, who is also the State Assemblyman for Baleh, has made a decision to open up Tunoh, which has a sizeable land to be opened up for oil palm estates and develop a new township in order to encourage active business activities in the area.
Hence, the State government has decided to build the road from Ulu Tatau to Tunoh, with a total length of 70Km, as it is convinced that the development of new township at Tunoh will be able to attract young people with good education and knowledge to work in the area.
Admittedly, the road is being constructed to an area with very small population though the State government builds this type of road to a place with at least 100,000 people living near the road sides. However, this can be justified with the development of hydro dam, which will be able to create more jobs for the local people at Baleh.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib, who is also the Chairman of Barisan Nasional Sarawak, says it has been the practice of component parties, since the first generation of leaders, to introduce new candidates in any elections. For example, Tan Sri Dr. James Masing, who has very high education, has been elected to represent remote rural areas through a proper program to groom young leaders to take over from old leaders.
He says in PBB, for example, he is the only first generation of leaders left in the party while Datuk Patinggi Jabu Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, Deputy Chief Minister, who was recruited to join Barisan in 1974, is the only one of the second generation of leaders left behind in the party.
The Barisan Nasional has the policy to groom people to take over from the older leaders, who should be obliged to support them as their successors and work as a team. As Barisan Nasional has been in the government for a long time, it has been able to forge unity and co-operation among party members, civil servants and community leaders in order to become stronger in the efforts of development.
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib says in April 2011 State elections, PBB introduced 10 new faces to contest and win in the elections. As a consequence, all elected leaders in PBB have degree qualifications. All other component parties also want to see new leaders with good academic qualifications and experience as members to continue with development efforts to undertake bigger projects at an accelerated pace in future.
Sarawak has been able to ensure a healthy development of politics among the people, who comprise of diverse ethnic and religious groups.
For example, a Malay leader does not help the Malay community only or the Iban leader, the Iban community only but we help all communities; so also with Chinese, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu leaders. They help all people who are people of Sarawak and citizens of
. For this reason, we have been able to undertake bigger and more sophisticated development. Malaysia
has successfully transformed the livelihood of the people from urban to rural areas through the continuous struggle from the first generation to the present generation of leaders to develop the state primarily to uplift the living standard of the people. Malaysia
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib recalls
Sarawak could not spend RM100 million under the First Malaysia Plan. But under the 10MP, State is expected to spend more than RM18 billion for development. Now the per capita income is RM41,000. When Sarawak joined in 1963, the per capita income was RM680 only. Indisputably, Malaysia has given a lot of benefits to the people as they celebrate its 50th anniversary. Malaysia
Sarawak will be able to achieve the income of RM45,000, the international benchmark for a developed nation, by the year 2017. In other words, Sarawak will become a developed state three years earlier than the national dateline of 2020. At one time Sarawak was among the three poorest states in the country.
May 15, 2013