Honesty has a beautiful and refreshing simplicity about it. No ulterior motives. No hidden meanings. An absence of hypocrisy, duplicity, political games, and verbal superficiality. As honesty and real integrity characterise our lives, there will be no need to manipulate others.
Charles R. Swindoll, author, educator and radio preacher
Sarawak has no part in the political machination that’s going on in Malaya now.
It’s becoming more complicated by the day, so complicated that it’s difficult to tell with certainty who is with who.
But what looks very clear is Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is looking beyond his PH partners.
Looking beyond PH means looking past some people — and perhaps even parties, and the way things look, that’s worrying so many quarters.
Tun M has hinted strongly there will be a Cabinet reshuffle and in the uncertainties interestingly, the one person whom many expected to be among the new names in the reshuffled Cabinet wants out.
Apparently, the PM-in-waiting isn’t interested in having a direct role in the running of the government.
This is really strange, to say the least. Anwar has spoken a lot about wanting to see changes made for Malaysia Baru. He spoke of politics beyond race and religion.
He could begin to go about proving that as a minster because right now many Malaysians aren’t interested in listening to the president of PKR; they may lend an ear to a minister.
That aside, the question many Malaysians are asking is why Anwar was too fast in asking to be excluded from the Cabinet even before Tun M said anything about his plans for Anwar, that is if indeed he has any plan for the PM-in-waiting.
Did he know, or did he think, Tun M would exclude him, so he pre-empted the PM’s announcement?
Would it not have appeased his supporters if say, Anwar is made DPM which would make his ascension to the office of PM even clearer?
Right now, there is really nothing to convince Malaysians he will be PM.
Even his own loyalists aren’t convinced he will be PM. If they are, they would not be harping on the succession issue, even openly demanding Tun M for a deadline.
As it is, there are no signs Tun M is fixing any succession date.
A reshuffle means he is creating a team he wants to work with until he has achieved what he has set out to achieve, and that’s going to keep Anwar agonising about his relevance.
And Anwar agonising is not good for a lot of people.
DAP, for one is losing sleep because it is becoming more obvious by the day that DAP’s future is better assured with Anwar at the helm than with Tun M.
But with Anwar choosing not to be part of Tun M’s Cabinet, the immediate biggest loser is not PKR but DAP because there is now no possibility of an Anwar ascension to guarantee DAP’s continued grasp on Putrajaya.
Anwar’s position seems to be that if he does not get to form his own Cabinet, he wants no part in Dr M’s Cabinet.
Anwar should really see the political undercurrent now at work. He should know that it is never his call, but Dr M’s.
He should not pre-empt Dr M by declaring his unwillingness to be part of the government.
His decision not only hurts DAP but it also reduces his chances of becoming the next PM to zero.
So, Dr M looking beyond Anwar?
It makes for exciting debate if he is or isn’t, otherwise what does it matter for Sarawakians.
At this juncture, it’s a dog eat dog situation in Malaya, GPS Sarawak is well advised to just watch from a safe distance to stay off rabid politics.
