From what we could gather on the ground is that the voters want PKR and DAP to work together in Sarawak to topple the state BN, but sad to say, no formula until now could be found to create a conducive environment for this to happen. To the DAP, the leaders of the PKR in the state has to be blamed and to the PKR, the DAP should, instead be blamed. Each has been blaming each other for the failure in negotiations of allocation of seats to the run-up of the election in which, in three constitutencies in Sarawak saw PKR and DAP instead of fighting together as a team against BN, had fought against each other to the advantage of the BN. So who has been correct and who should be blamed? In the end, the BN laughed their way to win seats where the parties quarreled. To a large extend, the threat tactics of three cornered fight by PKR in constituencies DAP wanted to contest had worked to the advantage of BN. The recent concluded Parliamentary Election in March 8, 2008 had given us a clear sign that in Chinese majority area, the voters had wanted DAP, not PKR to fight the BN and that in other areas, PKR should fight. PKR in Stampin contested by See Chee How lost its deposit very badly. See Chee How had contested elections twice and if I am not mistaken, it was the second time See Chee How lost his deposit in elections. The first was when he contested under DAP ticket in Mas Gading against Dr. Patau Rubis. I pity See Chee How, being a veteran politician has lost his deposit for the second time in a row.
Can DAP and PKR make it happen in Sarawak to create straight fight against BN in the coming state election in 2011? It is not impossible, but, as men by their nature are greedy and self-serving, to see straight fight with BN would be very difficult. BN has money and with money BN can work a lot of wonders to their advantage and will not like to see DAP and PKR have peace. BN will make sure that DAP and PKR will keep on quarrelling with each other and when both quarreled, DAP and PKR will lost focus and started attacking each other instead of attacking BN. A good example of this was what happened in Stampin during the last parliamentary election. PKR attacked me on St. Martin issue and this was well assisted by BN. They knew very well that the St. Martin issue involved not only school, but, the deprivation of people’s property by the government and also the disappearance of All Saint’s chapel built by the father of the present landowner, Millah anak Kitat. PKR was not heard at all attacking the BN! BN strategy worked!
Before the election, PKR Sarawak had aimed to collect RM1 million from the Chinese community for Chinese schools in Kuching. Although they could not succeed in collecting RM1 million, they managed to collect more than RM300,000-00 for the Chinese schools. It was something unexpected for a party which only had strong bumiputera backing to be able to collect such a huge amount of money from the Chinese community in which the DAP in Sarawak, which has strong support from the Chinese community could not do. It gave an impression that PKR had good support from the Chinese community and maybe because of this PKR was convinced that it should fight for Stampin. The huge funds collected from the Chinese community could have made a good report card to Anwar Ibrahim and Dr. Azizah that PKR should force DAP to let go Stampin or to go for a three cornered fight in Stampin. To let off Stampin to PKR by DAP would also mean to let go three state seats to PKR, a strategy in which I personally was always against. If DAP had given up Stampin, PKR will in the next round have bargaining power to squeeze DAP to give up at least one of the three state seats within the Stampin Parliamentary to PKR. PKR will start negotiating for the state seats of Batu Lintang or Kota Sentosa and will tell DAP not to touch Batu Kawa on reason that the seat was not contested by DAP in 2006. Come again the next parliamentary election in 2013, PKR will again tell DAP to lay hands off Stampin on the ground that DAP had given way for PKR to contest. This will have no end and in the end, DAP will be wiped out of Sarawak!
Until today, I could not know how PKR was able to collect such a large amount of money from the Chinese Community. For the good of the Chinese community, PKR should tell us how to do this so that DAP could be able to help the Chinese schools better and so that the Chinese schools will not continue to suffer under the oppression of the BN government who refused to give adequate funds to finance Chinese education in the state. Donations for a good cause can come from people of all walks of life, be they from the supporters of the BN or the opposition. No body can stop people making donations and soliciting money from opponents for a good cause and neither was it wrong to solicit funds from our opponents if it was for a good cause, but, I wonder where the donations came from? Had BN people chipped into the funds?
It would also beyond my guess if the money could come from the bumiputera community, in which, we all know are still very poor.
The banners, leaflets and set-up during the election of PKR also spoke volumes of the money PKR could collect for the campaign and it really intimidated me. This really gave an impression that PKR had good support of the Chinese community in their run-up to the election. Until now, it really disturbed my mind and I had kept on thinking whether BN supporters had pumped in money to PKR to make the fight in Stampin merrier. I cannot until today get an answer and only PKR and BN people could provide this answer to me. Maybe, I need one day have the opportunity to sit down with Anwar Ibrahim to get the answer.
If I had a weak heart, I could easily give up in my campaign as I could not raise much money in my cause to fight the election for the people. If not because that I was a trained person in the police force to lead and to fight against all odds, the battle for Stampin could have been abandoned on the third day of the campaign itself. It was a very dirty campaign where all my machinery in Stampin broke down where ceramahs could not also went on smoothly because thugs were involved in threatening me and my party comrades from holding the ceramahs.
In order to stay in power, BN will not like to see DAP and PKR be completely destroyed. It will not be to BN advantage if either DAP or PKR dies. BN will see that both parties will survive but will not co-operate with each other in a unified force against the BN. If both DAP and PKR can become a unified force, this will spell trouble for BN because there will, instead of three or multi-cornered fight be straight fight for seats in which will see deep problem for the BN. SUPP in urban areas where the Chinese is the majority will see them fall like dominos and in rural areas where the bumiputera is the majority will see many PBB, PRS and SPDP seats may fall to PKR. DAP may have little support in bumiputera areas, but, the little support could tilt the scale if PKR and DAP could work together in a unified force in coming elections.
Now, how to overcome all these past problems faced by both DAP and PKR? The answer is simple, but, depends very much on one person, that is, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of PKR who has to give instructions to Sarawak PKR to leave Chinese dominated areas to DAP and that Sarawak PKR just to concentrate on bumiputera dominated areas or where DAP has no influence. What will happen if this is not agreed to? Then, the way out is to allow free fight for all like what had happened in Stampin and let the people decide for themselves. DAP had fought many lost battles for the past thirty years in Sarawak and by losing another battle will not mean much either to DAP as DAP had been so much used to defeats. The loser will be Anwar Ibrahim who dreamed to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia. So if Anwar Ibrahim will not be able to control the present leaders in Sarawak, it would be very difficult for Anwar Ibrahim to realize his dream because Sarawak alone contributes 31 seats in Parliament.
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