The recent rallies of Pakatan Rakyat in major cities of Sarawak had certainly caught Najib and the Barisan Nasional coalition off guard. Never in the history of Sarawak had we seen such phenomenal crowds in an opposition rally.Led by charismatic leader Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan Rakyat had made massive inroads in trying to convince the Sarawakians to overturn a regime which had lasted for decades.
Prime Minister Najib's intervention was inevitable. His decision to call off a Cabinet meeting and make an immediate visit to the land of Borneo was seen as a last ditch effort to save Barisan Nasional from an embarrassing defeat in Sarawak.
Acknowledging the sentiments of most Sarawakians,who dislike their chief minister Taib Mahmud, Najib kick-started his campaign by proclaiming that a leadership transition is imminent. But many would still recall that pledges made years ago by Taib Mahmud and George Chan to step down were conveniently swept aside.
Besides that, federal intervention would certainly create turmoil between UMNO and its Sarawak coalition partners especially if Najib preaches the same gospel of dropping Taib Mahmud in PBB strongholds.
Taib still holds significant influence in such constituencies and certainly won't take kindly to the federal PM badmouthing him at his own constituencies. Some say he is already smarting at the high profile way that Najib had 'muscled' his way into Sarawak.
Fatal mistakes by a fading Najib administration
Many seasoned political followers believe Najib made a huge mistake in going down to Sarawak.
If he wanted to show off his popularity then he has failed, they say, pointing to a Sunday rally in Kuching where despite glitz and razzmatazz he only drew an audience of about 1,000 compared to the tens of thousands who rushed to hear the Pakatan leaders speak at nearby venues.
But Najib has certainly honed his skills of singing a different tune to different audiences and he can be expected to trot this talent down to Sarawak, although the folk there may also reject the thinly-veiled doublespeak as many of their counterparts in the peninsula have done so.
Najib also resorted to character assassination in his first speech in Sarawak. His target is non other than his biggest nemesis, Anwar. He said that: "How could he be the opposition leader? And he wants to be the prime minister but he has so many problems, how can he," in obvious reference to a porn video scandal and the ongoing sodomy trial.
In fact, he forgot to reflect and ponder upon his own problems of the Atlantuya murder case and various multi-million corruption scandals. This obvious hypocrisy has already turned public sentiment against him, with Malaysians showing strong disgust at the string of sordid and 'Umno-esque' conspiracies unleashed to keep the ruling elite in power.
An Utusan Malaysia reporter was also seen on the offensive during a press conference of PKR Sarawak yesterday, when she repeatedly questioned Anwar about the details of the porn video and the ownership of an Omega watch found in the hotel room where the tape was shot.
This drew furious response from the PKR leaders, as well as other reporters, as the press conference is entirely on the Sarawak elections. This just shows the level of desperation that Barisan Nasional and UMNO are at, and they are ready to kill off the political career of Anwar Ibrahim by all means.
That Anwar blew his top also reveals that he had anticipated the tack the Najib administration would take on the latest sex video conspiracy. Najib and the Umno elite have been accused of hatching the plot using a man that looks like Anwar to topple him.
On Monday, the Malaysian police rushed to bolster the reporter's case and attempt to skew public perception by announcing that they would take all steps to determine the ownership of the watch. Cynical Malaysians could only shake their heads at the latest twist.
A penchant for the under-handed
Meanwhile, SNAP, the party alleged to have been funded by the Barisan Nasional to be vote-spoilers, has also slowly revealed its true colours as it once again went on the offensive against PKR.
Secretary-general of SNAP, Stanley Jugol taunted PKR as arrogant and showy in its campaign by describing it as a “dog and pony show” and “ostentatious spending”.
SNAP has certainly forgotten its party's initial aim, which is to overthrow the Taib regime. Instead, it has repeatedly harped on launching taunts and insults at PKR. If the allegations of SNAP being bought over by BN are true, this would only reflect upon the atrocious and dirty tactics masterminded by Putrajaya.
Knowing that multiple contests rather than straight fights with Barisan had hurt Pakatan badly in the state election, employing SNAP to split the opposition votes would seem to be the ideal solution. In fact, this could be the underlying factor the Pakatan Rakyat must overcome if they are to win the mandate to govern for the first time.
Barisan Nasional is ready to do everything to put a halt towards the progress and inroads made by the opposition. With the resources and machinery available to them, it is indeed an uphill task for Anwar Ibrahim and team.
Nevertheless, it all boils down to the Sarawakians, if they are ready to deny a cruel, cunning and wicked regime once and for all. If the Tunisians can do it, and the Egyptians too, so can Libyans and us, Malaysians.
- Malaysia Chronicle
Tiada ulasan:
Catat Ulasan