The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
H. L. MENCKEN, AMERICAN JOURNALIST, ESSAYIST, SATIRIST AND CULTURAL CRITIC
DAP Sarawak chief Chong Chieng Jen did quite a hell lot of digging to convince himself that buying into Petronas is no insult to Sarawakians, as posited by Tourism Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Hamzah.
Chong listed four purchases by the state to substantiate his argument — purchases in MLNG, MLNG2, MLNG3 and Petronas LNG9.
According to him, these purchases didn’t insult Sarawakians because if they did the state government would not have made those purchases, so what’s wrong with taking Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent offer of stakes in Petronas?
He accused the GPS leaders of “merely playing politics”. Or rather, he convinced himself enough to believe that the GPS leaders made no other considerations but politics.
Read my lips — it is Chong convincing himself because to me there is no convincing Sarawakians as far as Chong is concerned. They no longer care about what he says. Sarawakians are beyond Chong’s convincing because he has told them too many things that are nothing more than air liur.
Your cup of Kopi-O is as expensive as it has always been, sugar isn’t any cheaper and, of course, the issue of 20 per cent and 50 per cent has become synonymous with him.
And his latest, about that purported MA63 Steering Committee discussion on buying into Petronas, it’s clear he was off-target. He was never “privy to the detailed information with regards to the oil and gas shares issue and not an authority to divulge any information on such a discussion, if any”.
The problem with Chong is he had been saying things Sarawakians liked to hear but which in the end aren’t worth the saliva that came off his mouth.
A cheaper cup of Kopi-O is playing politics, and obviously the 20 per cent and 50 per cent promise is politicking of the highest order:
Mr Speaker, we have here the manifesto of Pakatan Harapan. This has been agreed so long as we become the federal government. 50% of all tax revenue collected from Sarawak will go to state…will go to state coffer…not…you don’t have to beg. 50% of all tax collected from Sarawak will go to state coffer and 20 % of oil and gas will go to state coffer, you don’t have to beg. Yang Amat Berhormat, so long as we become the state gover…we become the federal government…even if the state government is Barisan Nasional. You don’t be…you don’t be… you don’t have to be…a katak to jump over to Pakatan Harapan but if we become the federal government. This is what we promise. This is what we promise…50% tax revenue collected in Sarawak and 20% oil royalty give to you…give to Sarawak.
Today it has been proven that that piece of drama was wholly aimed at winning votes. It had no economic value (Putrajaya and Petronas said they were not able to increase the oil royalty from 5 per cent to 20 per cent, with Dr Mahathir stating that a higher payout would “kill” the company), neither human nor moral value (you surely aren’t any saint if you cannot keep your end of the deal); but just a piece of political hoodwinking (because you can keep singing the same song and not think you are badly off-key).
No, the GPS leaders aren’t merely playing politics with the prime minister’s offer like Chong did with the 20 per cent and 50 per cent, percentages that seem to have been picked from thin air.
When you never meant to fulfill a promise, you could just say what people wanted to hear, and 20 per cent and 50 per cent were music to their ears.
GPS can’t afford that kind of behaviour. It must be answerable to the people. GPS only has Sarawak and Sarawakians to answer to. What it must do and within its responsibility to do it cannot say: Let’s wait for Putrajaya.
GPS gets no help from Putrajaya where and when it is not Putrajaya’s business to help.
GPS gets no money from Putrajaya if Putrajaya says ‘No’.
GPS is really on its own, it has to be prudent with its spending; it must not get into a situation where it has to beg to pay its civil servants, for example.
Some experts have warned Sarawak could end up heavily in debt if it took up Dr Mahathir’s Petronas offer. They warned Sabah could even go bankrupt.
For just two or three per cent, the state is financially paralysed and with no meaningful presence in the Petronas board, Sarawak will be at the mercy of the central power.
This must not be allowed to happen because we know for sure by now that the central government is never known to be merciful.
For 56 years, while Sarawak continues to struggle with the issues of dilapidated schools, poor infrastructure and villages that lack modern amenities, Kuala Lumpur basks in such landmark developments as the Petronas Twin Towers, and the air-conditioned elevated walkway connecting the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and Pavillion.
Putrajaya has bled us for 56 years, but that bleeding is about to stop.
That’s the reason why the prophets of doom are targeting GPS — because GPS is in the way.
GPS is no insult to Sarawakians; if anything, GPS insults the Malayan intelligence.
As soon as Chong realises this, he would not be too eager to accuse the GPS leaders of merely playing politics.
The simple truth is GPS is in the game — and setting the rule. What we witness in recent months is Putrajaya trying to bend the rule!
