KUCHING: The Borneo states will have a bigger clout in who will be returned as federal government in the next General Election.
This was the view of National Journalism Laureate Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar, who said the idea of a stable government is “flawed”
“My view is, Sabah and Sarawak parties will have a big say in the next general election.
“Sarawak is in good hands now. Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg is meticulous as he is a consummate tactician,” he said in his column in a national daily recently.
Johan said Abang Johari knows what is best for Sarawak, and that the Premier demands the state to be respected as they should.
“He (Abang Johari) argues that Sarawak has not been accorded the respect it should be getting. After all Sarawak is not at par with any states in the peninsula, it is at par with the peninsula.
“Sarawak and Sabah have aired their grievances openly about how the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) has been interpreted,” he said.
He opined that Parti Warisan Sabah (WARISAN) president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal also sees the logic in spreading the party’s wings to the peninsula. “Sabahans now want their voices to be heard”.
The former chairman of Media Prima Bhd and former editor-in-chief of Utusan Melayu said Malaysia must learn from the experience of Indonesia post-Suharto.
“They had two presidents in 53 years since independence in 1945. From the fall of Suharto in 1998, they had five presidents in 24 years. The new constitution of the republic limits the president’s tenure to two terms or 10 years.
“It took them at least 11 years and four presidents to see some semblance of ‘stability’ politically,” he said.
He stressed that the basic principle is the concept that the people, can choose a government through free and fair elections.
“The people have every reason to be sceptical of the ability of democratic governments to act effectively or politicians to act sensibly. But democracy is not perfect. So, we have to live with the imperfections.
“And to accept the fact that the people’s power must be respected at all times”.
