Pakatan Rakyat leaders have ridiculed the prime minister for his claim that long-serving Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud will step down. PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim referred to Najib Abdul Razak's speech last night, during which the announcement was made.
“Is this another cheap gimmick by Najib to cloud the vision of the public? If it is true that Taib will step down, the question is when? 2015? 2020?” Anwar asked at a press conference in Kuching today.
“Secondly, who is his successor? Is it going to be his brother, who has failed to groom his son as a successor? This must be answered. Asked about a suitable date for Taib to step down, Anwar replied: “Five years ago. He should not be contesting (in this election)."
Last night, Najib tried to calm obviously growing urban disenchantment with Taib – who is the focal point of Pakatan Rakyat's campaign – by promising that Taib will step down, but stopped short of setting a deadline.
His speech, coupled with the fact that he is camping himself in Sarawak from yesterday up to the eve of polls, signals that Taib may be falling out of Putrajaya's favour.
In a related development, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution produced a newspaper clipping dated Nov 7, 1995 which quoted Taib as saying that he would step down in “five years”.
Saifuddin said that, when the deadline arrived in 2000, even the most powerful prime minister in the nation's history – Dr Mahathir Mohamad – could not hold Taib to his word.
Thus, he rationalised that Najib, who has not held a general election to seek his own mandate, would not be powerful enough to ensure that Taib keeps his word.
Saifuddin said that now that Najib had given his assurance that Taib would step down, it would appear that Putrajaya is now dictating Sarawak's future. Should Taib hang on to his post, that this is likely to cause fissures between Sarawak and Putrajaya.
“This is something that the voters have to keep in mind,” Saifuddin said.
H
eadless state cabinet
The DAP jumped at the opportunity to present the Sarawak BN government as a "headless cabinet" following Najib's strong reiteration that Taib is on his way out. State party chief Wong Ho Leng (left) said the announcement does not hold much water as Najib has failed not only to name a date for Taib's succession, but to name the successor.
"This is an election to choose a new government. They should announce the (candidate to lead the government) now and let everyone make the evaluation," he told reporters in Sibu today.
Ever sceptical, Wong said that Najib's announcement that Taib will step down "at the right time" only smacks of insincerity. Najib, who is in Sarawak until Friday, had urged Sarawakians yesterday to "believe (him)" that Taib will soon end his 30-year tenure as chief minister.
Taib, however, has refused to name a successor and was quoted as saying he will quit in two or three years' time - a promise heard before. 
Responding to this, DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said that two or three years' time will mean after the general election. “Will he then make sure that he does not stand in the next election?” Pua asked, echoing Wong's scepticism when met in Kuching today.
If anything, said Pua, the announcement is proof that Taib is a burden to BN in its state election campaign. “When you read the actual text of Najib's speech you will see that he is not saying anything new (about Taib's resignation but) it shows that Taib's (tenure) is an issue. “It shows that the federal government is trying to get rid of Taib and Najib is trying to figure out how to do it,” he said.
DAP national secretary-general challenged Taib to produce a resignation letter if he is serious about quitting. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If he wants to resign then show us the resignation letter. Resign now. He said three years, but (SUPP president Dr) George Chan in 2006 said he'd resign in one year and now he's standing in election, with a new wife in tow," he quipped.
"The way Najib keeps saying that Taib will step down shows that not only the people but even BN leaders don't believe it. As Shakespeare wrote, '...he doth protest too much'."
State in Taib's hand
But unlike in the 1980s, where a coup to oust Taib needed sponsorship from federal-level BN sponsorship, Pua said Sarawak BN now holds the bargaining chips. “All of state power is under Taib. You cannot say 'don't give projects to your son'. What can you do if he does?
“Without (the support) of Sarawak the BN federal government can fall. BN is dependent on Sarawak MPs - there are 31 of them - to form the government,” he said. Najib's presence in Sarawak is read by pundits as a sign of distrust of Sarawak BN which, having not experienced heavy losses in the 2008 general election, has yet to learn to deal with Pakatan Rakyat's attacks.
Najib is being accompanied by members of his cabinet and features of BN's campaign in the peninsula are becoming more apparent in Sarawak. The 'divide and rule' element, for example, has reared its ugly head with SUPP telling the Chinese that voting them out will mean losing Chinese representation in government.
In Malay-majority areas like Satok, a fear campaign has been launched to frighten Muslim voters against voting for Pakatan, which has mooted a Christian Orang Ulu as chief minister if the coalition wrests power from the BN. At the same time, BN banners in Kuching warn that a vote for PKR is a vote for an Islamic state, a fear tactic heavily used by MCA in the peninsula.
Mr.Deal or No Deal terurns
Najib has returned to his Mr Deal-or-No-Deal persona, oft seen during by-elections, telling those he met in Stutong in Kuching that he can solve their problems but only if they help “resolve April 16 (polling day) for BN”.
He told Bukit Saban constituents that any "love letters" (applications for allocation) will be considered only after April 16, after he sees a windfall of votes there.
Najib's presence is being seen as “double standards” by Lim, who insisted that Pakatan's enemy No. 1 in Sarawak is still Pek Moh - as Taib is known in Hokkien, for his white hair. “We're not criticising Najib for campaigning here, he's Malaysian (and) he has a right to campaign. But we are saying that PBB and SUPP have double standards.
Why can they do it and we can't?” he asked reporters in Kuching. The Sarawak BN government had previously tabled a motion in the state assembly to reject “Western (Malaysian) influence” brought in by 'peninsula elements'.
Ironically, Deputy Prime Minister and Johor-born Muhyiddin Yassin too has called on Sarawakians to turn their back on “ghosts” from the peninsula. PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's statement yesterday claiming that Najib is in town because he distrusts Taib has also been turned on its head, with Pakatan national leaders accused of calling the kettle black.
Defending Sarawak DAP however, Kuching incumbent Chong Chieng Jen said: “We have always practised an open policy towards our national leaders, unlike BN which tabled that motion in the assembly.”
source:malaysiakini
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