Zam: Sarawak people hold the same views about Najib

Former minister predicts Barisan state election victory if Adenan seems independent.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former information minister Zainuddin Maidin says the Sarawak people share the same sentiments of peninsular Malaysians towards the prime minister, Najib Razak.

He said he learned of this after a trip to Sarawak recently in which he spent five days in the interior to learn about the local people’s feelings about the Chief Minister, Adenan Satem.

“The feelings towards Najib in Sarawak are similar to the ones in the Peninsula from my observation but surely the SB (Special Branch) knows better,” he said on his blog, Zamkata in which he posted remarks he had made on his Twitter account.

“BN (Barisan Nasional) will win if the CM seems independent,” he said.

Zainuddin noted that Adenan as well as Sarawak Governor Taib Mahmud had attended the Rulers’ Conference earlier this week.

A pre-council statement issued by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal had made note of the Rulers’ concerns about national issues such as the financial problems of 1Malaysia Development Bhd and other matters such as race relations and the need to maintain harmony and unity.

Zainuddin also speculated about moves to table a motion of no-confidence in Najib at the coming meeting of Parliament.

“At the Parliament, Najib will have to face the MPs from the opposition and BN who now have realised that his (Najib’s) leadership needs a new mandate of trust from the Malay Rulers,” Zainuddin said.

He also expressed his delight with the freedom that Sarawak’s media enjoyed. According to him, the media were allowed to publish news relating to 1MDB and on the Rulers’ statement.

“The papers in Sarawak are brave, independent and responsible towards the people by giving the Malay Rulers’ (statement) their front page. Congratulations!”

He noted that the Borneo Post had also published the positive reaction to the Rulers’ call for a full investigation into 1MDB.

Zainuddin, a former chief editor of Utusan Malaysia group, is a longtime supporter of former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who has been at the forefront of a year-long campaign to remove Najib from office.