March 31st, 2009
Sabah UMNO did well in the recent party elections, with many of their members winning in the various wings of the party as elected officials.
The highest achievement is, of course, the election of Shafie Apdal as one of the three vice presidents of the party and also the election of Rosnah Shirlin to head the Puteri Wing. Many commended her for winning without resorting to money politics. She came through with only six votes.
We must praise them all, for anything achieved at the national level is a source of pride to all Sabahans.
Now, the question is will Sabah be more of “Malaya” insofar as UMNO politics is concerned? Can Sabah UMNO leaders remain true to their Sabahan roots? Can they maintain their liberal, multi cultural outlook, instead of screaming the “Ketuanan Malayu” nonsense?
If we look at Shafie Apdal, at times he comes across more “Malaya” than the orang Malaya.This is to be expected as he needs to survive politically and he , therefore , plays the game understood by the majority.
It’s okay for him to play to the gallery when he is in Malaya, but, being a vice president of UMNO, how is he going to play his politics in Sabah? It’s not going to be easy for him, any perception of fighting for the interest of one particular group may well backfire in the local context here.
On one hand he must play the UMNO Malay card for his party members, but, and at the same time Sabah politics is a bit more complex than Malays vs non Malays as being played out in the peninsular.
To be successful in Sabah politics, you have to be inclusive, otherwise you might as well close shop. Sabahans are just natural democrats.
I just hope Shafie will remain true to his Sabahan roots and with his leverage in UMNO, hopefully his voice on Sabah matters will carry more weight, and we will get what’s due to us. And, he must work hard for UMNO to be seen as more inclusive and accomodating.
Even for helping UMNO to remain in power at the national level after the last general elections, we have not been rewarded properly.
As a result many of my friends are not too sanguine , they say Sabahan politicians have been selling state assets to Orang Malaya from way back. Even the notoriously “Sabah for Sabahans” party the PBS was the biggest culprit in this game, they sold assets like the SFI, Tanjung Aru Resort Hotel etc to KL based people.
With many Sabahans playing leading roles in UMNO at the national level, the chances of them trying to please their KL bosses and followers to show that they are pan Malaysians will be greater.
While the idea of being a Malaysian is not a bad idea, but, our politicians must remember many people in Sabah want to see a political two way trafffic taking place, instead of a one way traffic currently perceived with regards to who gets what in this country. Don’t just take, you must also give in a big way. In other words, fair play must be seen as a political reality in this country to keep us from moaning all the time.
For too long Sabahans have been screwed nice and proper by their own politicians.