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10th Sarawak State Election 2011 Results – A Reflection For GE 13

By Richard Loh

My delayed comment on the Sarawak State Election results was because I was on the road the past few days. By now most of you must have read statements from party leaders from both sides, the winners and losers, the experts from the new media and of course the umno/bn controlled media as well.

Was there really a tsunami in this State Election? There was none and let me explain why.

A tsunami cannot happened by itself, it needs an action to trigger it. The recent tsunami in Japan was triggered by a 8.9 Richter Scale earthquake. A tsunami usually will not happened for earthquake less than 5 Richter Scale, it will just create ripples.

In my earlier posting I clearly mentioned that the wind of change in Sarawak was only ripples being formed and there can be no tsunami as yet.

Sarawak and to an extend Sabah are totally different ‘monsters’ to tackle. They will only listen to their masters who have controlled them for over 40 years and will growl and bite anyone else that come near them. Even if they are being tortured, denied their food, basic amenities and land, they will still go back to their masters after been given small pep talks (with some threats) and a little incentives better than the usual, thrown in.

By just blowing air from your mouth is not going to create any tsunami. Some concrete actions need to be done that will have the effect of a 7 Richter Scale earthquake which can shake the people, only then a tsunami can be seen and felt.

For Pakatan Rakyat to make inroads into Sarawak and Sabah or rather to gain state power there are many challenges and obstacles that PR has to face and fend off and by just shouting and claiming that the tsunami has arrived is simply not good enough. The best bet is to work with the local leaders, members and political parties that are serious in wanting change as they are the ones who know better the in-things of their states. TALK less and WORK more. By talking too much you allow the media especially umno’s to spin more.

It is hope that Pakatan Rakyat will not stay jubilant over the small gain for too long but start looking into what went wrong for their failure to deny Umno/BN/Taib the two third majority, if I am not wrong, this is their main objective.

GE 13 is just round the corner and if PR is still on cloud nine with the little improvement of the Sarawak Election and the 308 results, they are in big trouble.

From afar and on the sideline, many are seeing a very shaky Pakatan Rakyat and with the help of the umno/bn controlled media spinning out of control every little thing that they can find on PR, irrespective of its truth, PR can be disintegrated even before the 13th GE arrives.

PR must not only be seen to be a strong coalition but all its physical actions must be accepted by the rakyat. But sadly no one wants to admit the fault line within the coalition. Looks like it is easier to pretend then admitting it.

PR must face reality and start to clean up the internal mess of one of the party. There is no point in pretending that all is fine when everyone on the outside can see clearly that it is not so.

My question to PR is, are you sincere in wanting to capture Putra Jaya? If you are, then prove to us that all the three parties can agree to stand as one and withstand the onslaught of your opponent. The rakyat are very worried and frustrated when the three parties are quarrelling over seats allocation and party members fighting for candidacy.

My postings may offend and make some PR leaders and supporters angry but my intention is very clear. I want PR to capture Putra Jaya and I need to speak my mind when I see anything wrong that may cost the chances of capturing Putra Jaya. For example, my tweet on the latest TV3 interview may have offended Raja Petra Kamarudin thus he removed and blocked me from following him. RPK is not a politician, he can do what he likes to anybody but PR leaders should not show their anger directly and upfront when confronted by members and supporters who are more vocal.

I may be wrong most of the time in hammering PR but I cannot be wrong all the time.

12 Replies to “10th Sarawak State Election 2011 Results – A Reflection For GE 13”

  1. Makes a lot of sense. To prepare for the next election, party representatives must 1. start working with locals, train and build local representative to become future party leaders. 2. Help them to resolve real livelihood issues. 3. Promote unity and be sincere!!

  2. Hello!
    63% popular support to 55% popular support is no small achievement. Two third in true democracy equal popular support of 67%. See how the playing field is not level?

    I have no doubt PR are already working hard in those areas you suggested. Does not need a brain surgeon to figure that out.

    Another more effective way would be to see how the election process can be made more transparent and fair.

    No Tsunami in Sarawak does not equal no change of government in next GE. Soldier on PR!

  3. Spot on Richard Loh. With hind-sight after the Sarawak Election, the open and very public bickering of PKR and SNAP as to seats allocation is not just shooting its own foot but also counter productive as the end result showed PKR emerged donkey faced when it only bagged 3 seats despited having jealously guarded its seat allocation to contest in 49 constituencies. This selfish act is not just “blowing air from the mouth” but trying to creat a tsunami from a swimming pool. The next time, esp so for the GE13, the PR coalition ought to be realistic and not attempt to take on a task that is too big for it to swallow. To do so will mean choking to death. That will certainly result in BN having the last laugh.

  4. DAP should start thinking how to win the hearts and minds of other races besides garnering support from the Chinese. DAP must realize that there is a LIMIT it can win by just focusing on the Chinese.

    To start Tsunami 2 in GE 13, PR must really sit down and do some brainstorming to see how they can pull down BN strongholds and fortresses to bring victory to the people.

  5. For tsunami to occur Pakatan needs needs big names, I mean real big names cutting themselves off from BN and joining the Opposition.
    Tunisia and Egypt regimes fell because Ministers, Generals and Ambassadors quitting the government and supporting the rebels.
    That’s what we need. Men of honour. But alas, we won’t find them in Malaysia because they are as corrupted and have more to benefit by remaining in BN. They care a damn if this country goes to the dogs. It’s personal interests, nothing else.
    Tell me, why are MCA /Gerakan/MIC/SUPP/PBS etc still in BN- personal interests. You think they cares about their communities?

  6. It is unfortunate that many of us Malaysians are still thinking along racial lines. However, let us for a moment look at the issues in a more unemotional manner. After the 2008 tsunami, Malaysians saw four states turned non-BN (plus existing PAS Kelantan). Why? The main thrust of the shift (except for Kelantan and Kedah which are PAS territories) happened in urban areas, where the people are more aware and better informed, and have good access to alternative media (i.e. internet-based). It so happened that the urban areas are populated by Chinese – so these constituencies are Chinese dominated. But, there are also better informed Malays, Indians and other Malaysians in these cities, towns and suburbs. And most of the urban people voted DAP, while better informed rural folks voted PKR and PAS. Why? Because they are sick of the corrupt BN and they wanted a strong opposition. And without expecting it, they got four more non-BN states (including the short-lived Perak PR government – which is another story!) because the swing was so great that the racist and corrupt BN lost their hold in those states.

    What happened in rural Sarawak in April 2011 elections is exactly what happened in urban constituencies in Peninsular before 2008. The urban folk were afraid to be left out if they voted for DAP and other non-BN parties. In some ridiculous situations, non-BN candidates like Lim Kit Siang was voted in as MP for Melaka but lost their state seats. Why? Because the urban folks still wants the little scraps from BN (better than nothing!) but a loud voice at Parliament for their rights to be heard. How sad.

    But in the 2008 elections, the urbanites hardened their resolve and went all the way – OUT WITH BN! And the tsunami happened in the west of Peninsular Malaysia.

    If PKR, PAS and other non-BN parties allied with PR, together with DAP, from now on reach out to the rural people in Sarawak and Sabah to get them better informed, the next elections will surely see the swing to PR as the rural electorate realise that they have to go all the way to secure a just and prosperous future for themselves and their children.

  7. do you think DAP will reject a Malay or Indian to become its member? It is the racist policies of the current regime over 50 years that polarize the people of this country, in thought and action. So it is not about DAP winning hearts, but about the other races being color blind and accepting DAP. It is about the people to open up their eyes and look beyond race and what’s good for this country.

    If their thoughts are still in this mode like…”tak apa lah, lebih baik melayu terima rasuah berbilion bilion asalkan bukan cina dan india”.

    If this is the thought, forget about winning hearts, because fools will not learn.

  8. Utusan Malaysia calls on the Barisan Nasional to punish Sarawakian Chineses for voting Democratic Action Party. In a democratic country, why should one be punished for questioning ? Even Barisan Nasional itself is guilty of racism.

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