Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) is scheduled to hold its party elections in Kuching this weekend (Oct 18-20) but don't expect fireworks, particularly for its top posts.
Party president Abdul Taib Mahmud is expected to be returned unopposed. Why? Because he says so. So will the deputy presidents and vice-presidents. Why? Because Taib says so, too. What he says goes, and what he wants, he gets. Make no mistake about it.
That's how powerful the PBB supremo and Sarawak chief minister is. As long as Taib still helms the party, it would be unthinkable for anyone to defy his wish. Nobody wants or dares to go against him. For now, everyone seems comfortable in PBB too. So why would anyone want to rock the boat?
Why should anyone complain anyway? Under Taib's leadership, PBB had achieved a 100 percent victory in the May 5 general election. The party had delivered the ‘safe deposit' state to BN and it had been duly rewarded with several plum jobs in the federal cabinet.
Nobody expected PBB juniors like Nancy Shukri to become the nation's de facto law minister or Fadillah Yusof to head the all-important Works Ministry. Several other Sarawak MPs were also appointed deputy ministers.
So why envy or blame PBB people if they all want to cosy up to their party president? Taib's detractors can say all they want about him but the fact remains - the man delivers. And he delivered 100 percent. Pray tell, which other BN component parties delivered the way PBB did in GE13? None, not even Umno.
While the date of Taib's departure as chief minister is on everyone's lips, no one is certain when that day will be except the man himself.
In recent weeks, Taib had publicly offered to step down soon citing his advancing years as the main reason. But we can easily recall the number of times he had brought up the matter, only to be conveniently forgotten soon after.
Before the 2011 Sarawak state election, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that he and Taib had an "understanding" on when the chief minister would call it a day. Taib himself had also declared then that he would serve another two or three years after the state polls.
Now, that time is up. So will Taib go for real this time?
My gut feeling is no ... not just yet. However, anything is possible over the next six to 12 months.
The governor's post
Party president Abdul Taib Mahmud is expected to be returned unopposed. Why? Because he says so. So will the deputy presidents and vice-presidents. Why? Because Taib says so, too. What he says goes, and what he wants, he gets. Make no mistake about it.
That's how powerful the PBB supremo and Sarawak chief minister is. As long as Taib still helms the party, it would be unthinkable for anyone to defy his wish. Nobody wants or dares to go against him. For now, everyone seems comfortable in PBB too. So why would anyone want to rock the boat?Why should anyone complain anyway? Under Taib's leadership, PBB had achieved a 100 percent victory in the May 5 general election. The party had delivered the ‘safe deposit' state to BN and it had been duly rewarded with several plum jobs in the federal cabinet.
Nobody expected PBB juniors like Nancy Shukri to become the nation's de facto law minister or Fadillah Yusof to head the all-important Works Ministry. Several other Sarawak MPs were also appointed deputy ministers.
So why envy or blame PBB people if they all want to cosy up to their party president? Taib's detractors can say all they want about him but the fact remains - the man delivers. And he delivered 100 percent. Pray tell, which other BN component parties delivered the way PBB did in GE13? None, not even Umno.While the date of Taib's departure as chief minister is on everyone's lips, no one is certain when that day will be except the man himself.
In recent weeks, Taib had publicly offered to step down soon citing his advancing years as the main reason. But we can easily recall the number of times he had brought up the matter, only to be conveniently forgotten soon after.
Before the 2011 Sarawak state election, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that he and Taib had an "understanding" on when the chief minister would call it a day. Taib himself had also declared then that he would serve another two or three years after the state polls.
Now, that time is up. So will Taib go for real this time?
My gut feeling is no ... not just yet. However, anything is possible over the next six to 12 months.
The governor's post
It is an open secret that Taib is keen to be the governor of Sarawak when he steps down as chief minister. If and when he finally gets that wish fulfilled, he will be following in the footsteps of his uncle, Abdul Rahman Yakub.
Rahman (right in photo) was Sarawak's third chief minister from 1970 to 1981. He moved into the Astana after stepping down as chief minister and served as governor until 1985.
By a strange twist of fate, Rahman's predecessor as governor was Muhammad Salahuddin, the current occupant of the Astana. When Taib eventually becomes governor, he will be succeeding Salahuddin, the only person in the country to serve as head of state twice.
At 92, Salahuddin has confided to friends in private that he wanted to retire a long time ago but was somehow persuaded to hold on to the largely ceremonial post. There were talks that he was only holding on till the right time for Taib to make his final decision.
Salahuddin's term will expire in December this year and so far, there has been no word from the Sarawak government of a recommendation to the king for an extension or renewal of his term.
While a governor is appointed by the king, it is the recommendation from the state government or the chief minister which matters.
In this case, the ball is solely at Taib's feet. It's his call to make.
If Taib decides that he wants to continue as chief minister for another year, he could recommend a one-year extension for Salahuddin. However, it is widely believed that a fresh three-year term for the nonagenarian governor is out of the question.
In the event of a non-extension come December, the provision for an acting governor is expected to be put in place. The State Legislative Assembly speaker Asfia Mohd Nassar had held the acting position previously and he is likely to be called to play the role again for a few months.
That should give Taib some generous time to breathe from this weekend when he will be officially declared as PBB president for a new term until he makes his final decision on stepping down as chief minister and becoming the governor.
The grace period will also enable him to seek counsel from his PBB loyalists on who should succeed him as chief minister.
But who will be successor?
That Taib will be stepping down is no longer an issue. Who will succeed Sarawak's longest serving CM of 32 years and its most powerful and richest chief executive is the more interesting poser and the answer is one long awaited by many.
Some people are expecting Taib to announce the name of his successor at the party's triennial general meeting this weekend but I doubt that will happen. He is known to keep such matters close to his chest.
Rahman (right in photo) was Sarawak's third chief minister from 1970 to 1981. He moved into the Astana after stepping down as chief minister and served as governor until 1985.By a strange twist of fate, Rahman's predecessor as governor was Muhammad Salahuddin, the current occupant of the Astana. When Taib eventually becomes governor, he will be succeeding Salahuddin, the only person in the country to serve as head of state twice.
At 92, Salahuddin has confided to friends in private that he wanted to retire a long time ago but was somehow persuaded to hold on to the largely ceremonial post. There were talks that he was only holding on till the right time for Taib to make his final decision.
Salahuddin's term will expire in December this year and so far, there has been no word from the Sarawak government of a recommendation to the king for an extension or renewal of his term.
While a governor is appointed by the king, it is the recommendation from the state government or the chief minister which matters.
In this case, the ball is solely at Taib's feet. It's his call to make.
If Taib decides that he wants to continue as chief minister for another year, he could recommend a one-year extension for Salahuddin. However, it is widely believed that a fresh three-year term for the nonagenarian governor is out of the question.
In the event of a non-extension come December, the provision for an acting governor is expected to be put in place. The State Legislative Assembly speaker Asfia Mohd Nassar had held the acting position previously and he is likely to be called to play the role again for a few months.That should give Taib some generous time to breathe from this weekend when he will be officially declared as PBB president for a new term until he makes his final decision on stepping down as chief minister and becoming the governor.
The grace period will also enable him to seek counsel from his PBB loyalists on who should succeed him as chief minister.
But who will be successor?
That Taib will be stepping down is no longer an issue. Who will succeed Sarawak's longest serving CM of 32 years and its most powerful and richest chief executive is the more interesting poser and the answer is one long awaited by many.
Some people are expecting Taib to announce the name of his successor at the party's triennial general meeting this weekend but I doubt that will happen. He is known to keep such matters close to his chest.
However, a PBB source said that a new party caucus comprising all elected legislators of the party may be set up soon to choose one from among them to be the new chief minister.
According to the source, the caucus proposal did not go down well with Taib, but he may not have a choice if the majority of the supreme council members push for it after he decides to step down.
In his long tenure as chief minister, Taib has named several potential successors but it appears that none of them are in his good books now.
"The party knows this and that is why the idea of a caucus came up. In the end, it is better for PBB seniors to choose a new leader from among them. It cannot be the decision of one man alone," the source added.
Well, who will be Taib's successor? That will make for another interesting story another day.
According to the source, the caucus proposal did not go down well with Taib, but he may not have a choice if the majority of the supreme council members push for it after he decides to step down.
In his long tenure as chief minister, Taib has named several potential successors but it appears that none of them are in his good books now.
"The party knows this and that is why the idea of a caucus came up. In the end, it is better for PBB seniors to choose a new leader from among them. It cannot be the decision of one man alone," the source added.
Well, who will be Taib's successor? That will make for another interesting story another day.
FRANCIS PAUL SIAH heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) and can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.
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