KUCHING: A senior Barisan Nasional (BN) leader in Sarawak has warned that unless Umno leaders in Kuala Lumpur are “genuine” about sharing power with its component parties including those in Borneo, the coalition is doomed.
Alluding to the coalition’s performances in 2008 and 2013 general elections, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Jemut Masing said: “We must be brave enough (to speak).
“Umno may be the dominant partner but they must be willing and genuinely willing to share power with others.
“Unless they are willing to share and share it well with us, we will all become irrelevant. And I am not talking about 10 years but five years from now.”
Masing, a Senior Minister in Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s administration, was commenting on views about turning BN into a single entity.
Currently BN has 13 coalition partners including those from Sabah and Sarawak.
Umno is the dominant party and over the years has all of ‘diluted’ the ‘powers’ of its component partners.
In the last election Sabah and Sarawak collectively contributed 49 parliamentary seats to the federal coalition, once again allowing BN to remain in Putrajaya.
Following BN’s performance and the morphing political landscape, tehre have been suggestions that BN be turned into a single party.
But Masing is averse to the idea because he believes it will “drown” the voices of the smaller parties especially those in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Over the years, the substance has changed (within BN) as certain groups have taken upon themselves to be so dominant they have all the decision making power.
“It was not like this in the past when there was genuine power sharing and genuine understanding of each group’s aspirations and dreams.
“To put BN on the right track there must be sacrifice within BN, “ he said alluding to the post GE13 cabinet structure which gave Borneo states more seats but none in key ministries.
BN must return to roots
He said BN chairman Najib Abdul Razak knew the problem and had tried to empower the other component parties besides Umno.
But in the end the Umno ‘compromise’ was to give away lesser important portfolios to its Borneo partners.
Masing believed that BN needed to return to its roots and remember what it had done right in the past if it is to remain relevant to Malaysians.
“We have to find out why BN was so strong in the 70s and 80s when the Chinese and the Indians turned to BN.
“In those days especially the 70s and 80s, who were the Finance ministers? Who were the Works ministers and who were the Education ministers?
“They were all non-Umno – that was power sharing. So unless you are willing to share that kind of power, the others would feel that they are neglected,” he said.
He also pointed out that the GE13 proved that contesting under the BN banner no longer made a candidate an overwhelming favourite to win an election and it was now imperative that the coalition find out why it was rejected.
“If one does not vote for me that might be personal. But when 10,000 don’t vote for me, something is wrong.
“So you can’t be right if 10,000 is against you,” said Masing alluidng to the fact that BN has lot to the opposition in popular votes.
Kuasa yang berpatutan harus diberi kepada kerajaan di Sabah dan Sarawak.
ReplyDeleteTidak salah jika kuasa diberikan untuk pihak yang tertentu dan membuat keputusan tertentu.
DeleteSabah and Sarawak contribute a better seats to let BN to stay in power. Indeed, the federal should render sufficient power to the local government.
ReplyDeleteMereka haurs berani bersuara dan membawa kesemua isu untuk dibincang secara aman dan tenang.
ReplyDeleteHarus bersuara dan menuntut apa yang berpatutan.
DeleteThey must be some reason why the people begin to go against the BN government.
ReplyDeleteBN harus mengkaji secara mendalam apakah sebab rakyat menolak BN dan menghala ke arah pembangkang. PRU13 membukti sokongan pembangan bertambahan.
ReplyDeletearisan Nasional's (BN) power-sharing concept among the country's various races has proven to be a winning formula in bringing economic growth, maintaining peace and stability in the country, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
ReplyDelete"Nobody can deny that this country has developed and become rich because the BN has been able to administer the country well," he said.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt the country is developing, but, is this the only development we can achieve with the resources we have in Malaysia? We can compare Singapore.
DeleteMahathir noted that some people believed Malaysia was already a developed country, thanks to all its major races plus those in Sabah and Sarawak, willing to work together for the sake of the country.
ReplyDeleteTaking a swipe at the opposition parties which tried to copy BN's way of forging an alliance, he said theirs was not a genuine coalition.
ReplyDeleteUnlike the BN, he said, they contested elections with their own symbols and lacked common ideologies and policies.
ReplyDelete"I hope when you vote in this coming general election, please remember that other people may make promises in their manifesto but they say the manifesto is not a promise," he said.
ReplyDeleteMahathir said with 56 years of experience in ruling the country, BN had a good record of bringing about development which could be seen all over the place, including in the field of transportation.
ReplyDeletePerkembangan ini tidak harus rasa puas hati, masih banyak lagi perlu diusahakan lagi khas isu pengangguran, pendidikan dll.
DeleteHe said Malaysians too had honed their business skills to a point where there were billionaires among them.
ReplyDeleteUmno could open up its membership to all the races and turn into a multi-racial party. However, that this is unlikely because this will change the structure of Umno.
ReplyDeleteThis is the better idea. They should have now be more open to other races. Continue with only Malay, it will not a good sign to BN also.
Delete"Umno will need to experience a break up to be able to reach that stage, therefore it cannot be done in any time soon," he said.
ReplyDelete