I flew from kLIA to Miri this morning with the DAP National Organising Secretary and MP for Seremban, Anthony Loke, to carry out legitimate political activities n Sarawak, i.e. the 11th Sarawak State General Elections, as guaranteed by the Malaysian Constitution, the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the 18 Points, but Anthony Loke became the latest victim of a gross abuse of power when he was not allowed to enter Sarawak and was sent back to KLIA on the same Air Asia flight back.
Loke joins a long list of DAP, PKR and Amanah leaders/MPs who have been denied their constitutional right to carry out legitimate political activities in Sarawak in the 11th state general election – a list which includes DAP leaders/MPs like National Vice Chairman and MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok, DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua (MP PJ Utara); Asst National Publicity Secretary Teo Nie Ching (MP for Kulai); PKR National Chairmen Nurul Izzah Anwar (MP Lembah Pantai), Tian Chua (MP Batu), Rafizi Ramli (Pandan), Shamsul Iskandar (MP Bukit Katil) and PKR MPs like Zuraida Kamaruddin (Ampang) and Sim Sze Tsin (Bayan Baru) and Parti Amanah President Mohamad Sabu.
Four days ago, I had urged the Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem to revoke the blanket ban on DAP, PKR and Amanah leaders from entering Sarawak to carry out the legitimate political activity during the 11th Sarawak State General with nomination day fixed on April 25 and polling on May 7.
I had said that both Adenan and I are septuagenarians – he at 72 and me at 75.
We do not have many active political years left.
Let us do something worthwhile in the evening of our life, as promoting democracy, national unity and Sarawakian rights of autonomy instead of abuses of power to prop up a political party past its shelf life.
Let the 11th Sarawak state general elections be a clean, free, fair and democratic one.
In fact, I call on Adenan to lead Sarawak BN to an election victory which will be the result of clean, free, fair and democratic elections which could be the pride of Malaysia and the world.
There is not a single person, whether in Sarawak or Malaysia, who doubt that Adenan will be returned in the 11th Sarawak state general election as the Chief Minister of Sarawak.
As far as forming the next Sarawak State Government is concerned, nobody would dare to say that the Sarawak Barisan Nasional could be denied and defeated.
The only question is whether Adenan could win two-thirds majority of the State Assembly, which means getting at least 54 State Assembly seats.
I do not believe there are many who would dare to claim that the Sarawak BN could win less than 50 seats out of 82 State Assembly seats.
The only question is whether Pakatan Harapan and parties allied to PH could win a total of at least 28 seats – which is a very tall order, which will make history in Sarawak state politics.
With such a strong political position, why is it necessary for Adenan to mar his image as a democrat and his victory as Sarawak Chief Minister through undemocratic means like gross abuse of power?
Adenan does not need to abuse the immigration autonomy powers to win any seat for the PBB. If any, the abuse of immigration autonomy powers is to assist SUPP and UPP leaders contesting in the Sarawak State Elections.
Will the SUPP and UPP leaders confess that the abuse of immigrant autonomy powers by the Chief Minister was solely to benefit them?
In fact, was Adenan’s abuse of autonomy immigration powers at their request – and if not, are they prepared to publicly urge Adenan not to abuse the immigration autonomy powers as this is bad not only for democracy in Sarawak and Malaysia, but also for democratic image of the Sarawak Chief Minister?
During the present visit to Sarawak, I will cover nine Sarawak state assembly seats, viz: Piasau, Senadin, Pujut in Miri, Mulu in Baram, Pakan in Julau, Repok and Maradong in Sarikei, and Bukit Assek and Pelawan in Sibu.
I am not involved in the Pakatan Harapan discussion and negotiations for the Sarawak general elections, but I am glad to be informed that a one-to-one electoral contest had been agreed among the three Pakatan Harapan parties, and I hope that this electoral accord reached by the three Pakatan Harapan parties can hold in Sarawak state elections from Nomination Day to Polling Day and be the basis of greater political co-operation for Pakatan Harapan parties in the 14th Malaysian General Elections which must be held by 2018.
The Pakatan Harapan Sarawak leaders will be announcing the candidates for the Sarawak State Assembly elections and I hope that the DAP candidates in the nine Sarawak State Assembly seats I will be visiting in the net three days will be able do well on May 7.
The Battle for Sarawak in the 11th Sarawak State General Election is the Battle for Malaysia for future generations, in Sarawak as well as rest of the country.
Never before have the Sarawak state general election been so important in the 53-year history of Sarawak, for what happens on Sarawak polling day is not just about Sarawak, whether Chief Minister Adenan Satem can form the Sarawak State Government with or without two-thirds majority, but even more important, how it will affect Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s future as sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia because of the RM50 billion 1MDB global scandal.
In fact it is no exaggeration to say that the forthcoming Sarawak State General Elections is even more important to Najib than to Adenan in determining the fate of the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.
This is why Najib had visited Sarawak more than 50 times since becoming Prime Minister!
The issue in the Sarawak state general elections is not whether Adenan will continue as Sarawak Chief Minister but whether the victory of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional on May 7 could be used by Najib as an endorsement of his premiership, both in Malaysia and internationally.
Lets work for a Three Wins result in the 11th Sarawak State General Election – win for Pakatan Harapan, win for Sarawak and win for Malaysia.
(Media Conference Statement in Miri on Friday, 15th April 2016 at 2 pm)