We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.
– J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Last Sunday, the parties that form the federal unity government gathered at the prestigious Dewan Merdeka, World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) at the nation’s capital.
The objective of this gathering was none other than a show of solidarity by the 19 parties within the loose coalition.
Friends and former foes shared the same stage in the name of unity to ensure the prosperity of the nation.
The current government is one that enjoys firm support from both Sarawak and Sabah coming from members of its state legislature.
That is something that has not happened since the reign of the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government which fell in 2018 and from the looks of it, it is the formula for the nation’s stability.
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government of old when it assumed control of Putrajaya, was not able to take control of Sarawak and Sabah.
Sarawak then was firmly in the grip of the local parties which made up BN Sarawak.
Initially, it was the same case for Sabah, until a last-minute wave of defections that saw the Land below the Wind having a constitutional crisis where two chief ministers were sworn in days apart.
Warisan was the state government in Sabah only to suffer the same fate as Pakatan at the federal level in 2020. Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) was then in control after the Sabah state polls until now.
Sabah during Pakatan’s reign from 2018 to 2020 was merely relegated to being a spectator witnessing the fight put up by Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to reclaim eroded rights led by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
GPS went about it alone when it came to asserting its rights to the State Sales Tax (SST) in the court. Sabah only followed suit after the decision was delivered in Sarawak’s favour.
This invited strong criticism from Sarawak politicians, describing the neighbours as “riding on Sarawak’s coattails”.
As harsh as it seems, it was deemed justified. Many political observers in Sarawak saw that Sabah could have helped Sarawak’s case in reclaiming the eroded rights as it too would have benefited from it.
GPS’ success was strongly referenced in political speeches in Sabah by its leaders – who viewed that the bar is set by their Sarawak counterparts in terms of the fight to assert rights enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Even on the social media sphere, many Sabahans who criticised their leaders would echo the same sentiment of “why can’t we be more like Sarawak?”.
I guess this exact thinking crossed the mind of Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, the GRS chairman when deciding on the political parties that the Sabah-based coalition would ally with in the formation of the federal government.
This was the basis of the formation of the Borneo bloc when Hajiji and Abang Johari on election night agreed to a collaboration between the two states to support a federal government that will benefit both Sarawak and Sabah.
To cut a long story short, during the Unity Government National Convention, Hajiji, who himself recently has come under attack in Sabah by way of a foiled coup early this year must have thanked his lucky stars that he joined forces with GPS.
Had he not done that, himself and his GRS coalition might have not survived the recent political tremor in Sabah by not being in the same boat with GPS and the rest of the federal coalition.
When Abang Johari and his delegation arrived at the venue on Sunday, Hajiji and his GRS delegation had waited patiently for the former’s arrival.
The intention was for both – Sarawak and Sabah, Abang Johari and Hajiji – to walk side by side to enter Dewan Merdeka.
That in itself was a display of force – symbolically, it was to show that without Sarawak and Sabah, this grand coalition would not materialise and stability would remain a pipedream.
The reception was unlike anything they had ever seen before and justifiably so. Malaya-based parties know the importance of having East Malaysian support and they showed their appreciation for it.
Indeed, it remains a long and winding road for Malaysia to be truly back at its feet due to the economic doldrums and its prolonged period of political instability.
But now, that dream remains achievable. It remains alive. Sarawak and Sabah are a force to be reckoned with. Make no mistake about that.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
