Kita’s Rauf Othman ‘a spent force’ in Sabah

Parti Kita Sabah chairman Rauf Othman's view that Sabah should be governed by one party 'to reduce politicking' has left political observers dumfounded.

COMMENT

Parti Kita’s Sabah chairman Pengiran Othman Rauf is seeking a comeback from political exile.

But Rauf has a long way to go to rekindle people’s interest in him as a spent force and one who never had a high profile.

Which makes his recent announcement of the party’s ambitious plans to contest in all seats in Sabah an incredulous bid.

But even more incredible to digest is his view that Kita will be able to administer Sabah as it “has leaders with high integrity and ability.”

Until now Kita has not been on Sabahans’ political radar and to come-in at the eleventh hour declaring that it will win is incredulous.

According to Rauf, people should vote “not based on a coalition but for the good of the people, country and future”.

My question is how does Kita expect to be more attractive than the promises of the Borneo Agenda under the Borneo Alliance?

Another of Rauf’s interesting political ideas is that Sabah should be governed by one party “to reduce politicking.”

So, with no participation in government, the other parties will shut their mouths until the next general elections?

I thought that to reduce politicking, all parties should be controlled by one backbone party like what happens in Barisan Nasional, and there should be no opposition as suggested by deputy chief minsiter and PBS president, Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

No answers for Sabahans
Rauf explained his version of “effective political control: when he said: “A coalition faces opposition not only from the outside but also from within itself and this causes the coalition to be unable to concentrate on the people and the country’s needs.”

So Rauf believes the opposition, internal or external, shouldn’t make any noise in a Kita-government, even if the government is doing everything wrong?

Does Kita believe it knows enough not to make any mistake whatsoever?

But what Rauf must find most difficult is to rationalise why Sabah would be better under the rule of a peninsular party helmed by former Umno-BN law minister Zaid Ibrahim.

He tried to answer the questions which Pakatan Rakyat partners – PKR and DAP – are still struggling with in Sabah.

But the questions of “how to fight for Sabah and for Sabahans ideology while you are a party from the peninsula” and “how not to be another Umno” remain unanswered.

Rauf said: “Kita leaders in Sabah have been given the full mandate to manage the party here as well as administer the state government after forming it”.

He said Sabahans do not have to worry about the state being under federal rule.

But it is hard to believe that the party’s leaders in Kuala Lumpur will not interfere one single bit in Sabah – with its natural resources running into hundreds of millions, or billions of ringgit - and are prepared to hang by the decisions of a few of their underlings.

In such a situation “full mandate to manage the party here” or to govern the state independently of KL Kita leaders will simply be impossible.

The “federal rule” as hinted by Rauf, will never happen under Kita as it has no hope of taking over Putrajaya on its own.

Too late for Kita

Kita’s high proclamation about taking the state is the proverbial dog’s bark at the hill (anjing menyalak bukit), or in this case at Mt. Kinabalu, meaning an act in utter futility.

For one, Kita has come on the scene too late to be able to leave any visible footsteps on Sabah’s political landscape.

With the general election looming, with almost zero support, and with such limited funding (as once confessed by Zaid), it will hardly be able to even scratch the surface.

Even with sufficient romp and bravado, Kita will still find it a gargantuan task to answer the key questions of what its real struggles are and how those struggles are not better achieved in local parties like STAR.