To retain Putrajaya, Najib needs to keep Taib Mahmud happy

All the action is happening in Peninsula Malaysia, rightly so since almost all the agendas being splashed for public consumption now has direct effect on the Malay vote there. Yet while UMNO may be working hard to secure its vote among the Malays in the peninsula, Sarawak has largely gone under the radar.

Chief Minister Taib Mahmud is Najib’s bogeyman and this lapse in attention will bite Najib in return unless it is tackled head-on.

As much as Perkasa wants to scream and shout the UMNO Malay agenda, the populace of Sarawak is largely made up of non-Malays and non-Muslims.They too are Bumiputera and a majority vote Barisan Nasional. That’s as far as they are acknowledged. Other than that, these Bumiputeras are ignored till the next election period.

Yet, it should never be perceived by the peninsula federal government that Sarawakians are ignorant to all the rantings at the national level. They take note and keep to heart.

The crux of BN’s mandate in Sarawak is in the form of the 29 out of 31 parliamentary seats that BN Sarawak holds. 14 of the parliamentary seats are held by Taib's Parti Pusaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).

The 14 seats PBB won in the 2008 elections places them third behind UMNO and MCA in terms of number of seats won.

And when we talk about PBB's seats, we are actually talking about Taib's seats. Taib is PBB and PBB is Taib, make no mistake.

Third highest number of parliamentary seats

PBB has long been Taib Mahmud’s vehicle in maintaining his hold on power. Not only does it contributes to the third highest number of parliamentary seats for BN at federal level, it also controls 35 out of the 71 seats in the Sarawak state assembly. How's that for power?

Even though having the majority of seats does not really translate to having the most votes, in a democracy like Malaysia, popular representation is second to the number of seats held.

SoTaib is probably the most powerful power broker in Malaysia, why not when the party he leads has such a stranglehold on the electorate.

It is in his 35 state seats and 14 parliamentary seats that are Najib’s and UMNO’s fixed assets in Malaysia.

In 2009, the first time Najib Razak addressed the UMNO assembly, 2,539 delegates congregated in Kuala Lumpur and gave him the mandate to remain the UMNO president and hence Prime Minister of Malaysia. Did any of the UMNO delegates come from Sarawak?

Yet, when the UMNO-elected Prime Minister wants to retain authority over the Malaysian government he turns to Sarawak to secure his mandate. There is no doubt that if the Prime Minister wants to maintain his majority mandate in Parliament, he will need the 14 PBB seats in Sarawak.

This explains the huge influence Taib Mahmud has on the government led by Najib Razak. This may also explain why the 75-year old Taib has out-stayed two Malaysian prime ministers and is bogeyman to the current prime minister.

The call for Taib Mahmud to name a successor is a stressful one, and Taib Mahmud is in no hurry. Would it hurt Taib if Najib urges him to retire? It would probably hurt Najib more to try to hasten Taib's departure.

So it is that Najib is ever toeing the line when it comes to Taib Mahmud, and as Malaysia heads into the 13th General Election, all that is necessary must be done to ensure Taib's 14 parliamentary seats stay in the BN fold.

And keeping the 14 in would of course have to mean a future with Taib in the picture.

At the same time, having Taib in the picture will also increase the risk of losing the other 15 parliamentary seats. Out of the 15; the Chinese-based SUPP holds 7 seats, which could potentially go to DAP.

Indeed, Taib is Najib’s bogeyman and despite being 27 years older, Taib may even out-stay Najib.