Keadilan making headway in Sarawak
Tony ThienPublished: Jan 9, 2001 3:08 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Sarawak politicians in opposing camps are wondering aloud on what might be the implications for them in the coming state elections this year if by some sheer chance Umno, PAS and Keadilan leaders in Peninsular Malaysia can sit down and talk peace.
Yesterday, Keadilan declined to attend the so-called Malay unity talks with their arch political enemy Umno, while PAS is showing less than full enthusiasms.
Umno under Dr Mahathir Mohamad is largely seen in Sarawak to be losing Malay support while PAS and Keadilan appear to be gaining and that even non-Malays, especially the Chinese, have found PAS less dreadful as an Islamic party and certainly have no qualms about supporting Keadilan when they see the need to support it on crucial issues.
Within the last one week the surprising news is that two Chinese doctors - one private medical practitioner in Miri and the other in Sarikei - have announced they are supporting Keadilan.
It is generally believed they will be contesting in both areas which are presently controlled by the Sarawak United People's Party (Supp), a component party of the Sarawak's four-party ruling coalition headed by the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Two doctors recruited
Keadilan Sarawak deputy chief Cheng Hui Hong, a lawyer, announced that a Miri Hospital's former obstetrician Dr Teo Yu Keng, 52, has joined the party led by Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at the national level.
The Sarawak chief is Hafsah Harun, a former state minister and former Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) women's chief.
The other medical practitioner who has joined KeAdilan is Dr Wong Hua Seh.
According to political observers, Keadilan's victory at Lunas has been a morale booster and an inspiration for a party that until recently was not given much of a chance. But with indications that more non-Malays, especially the Chinese, willing to identify themselves publicly with Keadilan has raised hopes among its leaders that they might just be able to pull some wins in what is seen as the BN's bastion state.
Like the Peninsular Malaysia-based DAP, both PAS and Keadilan in Sarawak are represented only by Sarawakian personalities and they see the various campaign issues slightly differently from their counterparts across the South China Seas.
Therefore, any talks, whatever the conclusion may be or where they are heading, are unlikely to change the face of Sarawak politics.
The various parties - BN and the Barisan Alternatif (with or without the DAP) besides the independents - will still be going into the battlegrounds to wage their wars against each other.
Leaders on both sides of the political divide would probably prefer it that way, anyway. Every battle station has been readied, posters have been printed and politicians of different shades and colours have already been making their noise and their rounds.
Yesterday, Keadilan declined to attend the so-called Malay unity talks with their arch political enemy Umno, while PAS is showing less than full enthusiasms.
Umno under Dr Mahathir Mohamad is largely seen in Sarawak to be losing Malay support while PAS and Keadilan appear to be gaining and that even non-Malays, especially the Chinese, have found PAS less dreadful as an Islamic party and certainly have no qualms about supporting Keadilan when they see the need to support it on crucial issues.
Within the last one week the surprising news is that two Chinese doctors - one private medical practitioner in Miri and the other in Sarikei - have announced they are supporting Keadilan.
It is generally believed they will be contesting in both areas which are presently controlled by the Sarawak United People's Party (Supp), a component party of the Sarawak's four-party ruling coalition headed by the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Two doctors recruited
Keadilan Sarawak deputy chief Cheng Hui Hong, a lawyer, announced that a Miri Hospital's former obstetrician Dr Teo Yu Keng, 52, has joined the party led by Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at the national level.
The Sarawak chief is Hafsah Harun, a former state minister and former Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) women's chief.
The other medical practitioner who has joined KeAdilan is Dr Wong Hua Seh.
According to political observers, Keadilan's victory at Lunas has been a morale booster and an inspiration for a party that until recently was not given much of a chance. But with indications that more non-Malays, especially the Chinese, willing to identify themselves publicly with Keadilan has raised hopes among its leaders that they might just be able to pull some wins in what is seen as the BN's bastion state.
Like the Peninsular Malaysia-based DAP, both PAS and Keadilan in Sarawak are represented only by Sarawakian personalities and they see the various campaign issues slightly differently from their counterparts across the South China Seas.
Therefore, any talks, whatever the conclusion may be or where they are heading, are unlikely to change the face of Sarawak politics.
The various parties - BN and the Barisan Alternatif (with or without the DAP) besides the independents - will still be going into the battlegrounds to wage their wars against each other.
Leaders on both sides of the political divide would probably prefer it that way, anyway. Every battle station has been readied, posters have been printed and politicians of different shades and colours have already been making their noise and their rounds.
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