Sarawak bumi, Chinese tycoons protecting political interests

S’WAK POLLS Business tycoons have long wielded a strong influence over the political systems of Sarawak, with the two spheres having a unique relationship unlike the situation in any other state in Malaysia.

Sarawak has historically been a place where businesses "are not totally subservient to the state", noted political analyst Terence Gomez.

Contrast that with how things are run in Peninsular Malaysia, where Umno has a strong grip over businesses, Gomez said.

University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute director James Chin shared a similar view, saying that up till the mid-1980s, political power was diffused throughout the Sarawak system, whereas in Peninsular Malaysia, Umno has always been the "big boss".

"Umno has taken over the state itself. In Sarawak, although PBB is strong, it doesn't have a grip on the entire economy," Chin said.

Gomez pointed out that monetisation of politics is a serious problem in Malaysia, and with elections to the federal and state governments becoming more competitive, they also become more expensive.

Political parties, in need of access to big money, then strike up a relationship with businessmen, who will provide the money to them, he explained.

A 'quid pro quo' relationship would then emerge, Gomez added, as the political parties become indebted to the businessmen.

In Sarawak specifically, Chin said, as a result of the Melanau-Foochow merchant alliance, these businessmen were earning so much money that they had to invest in new ventures, such as property development.

"The biggest problem with development in Malaysia is red tape. Who controls the red tape? The government," he said.

Putting it bluntly, Chin said business tycoons help fund elections to gain the ability to influence public policies.

Different approaches to political influence

For the coming Sarawak state election, at least five Chinese business tycoons and family members of wealthy timber merchants in the state have made their way to the candidate list of Chief Minister Adenan Satem.

On the other hand, the bumiputera business tycoons do not seem to have adopted any direct a strategy in protecting their interests in this election, such as by funding the election campaigns.

"Just because the Chinese investors are now directly involved in politics, there are still other means which they (businessmen) can control the political process.

"Businessmen need not necessarily enter the political process, they can still fund the political parties.

"They control the parties by virtue of the fact that they have funded these parties," Gomez said.

The bumiputera tycoons could also be fielding proxies as candidates to represent their interests, which would be less obvious as directly contesting in the election themselves.

"They (bumiputera tycoons) are there, except they are not as obvious as the Chinese ones because they are linked directly to the conglomerates," Chin pointed out.

The bumiputera tycoons have largely inherited their wealth and continue collecting their wealth by grabbing government contracts, he explained.

Meanwhile, the Chinese business tycoons have created their wealth on their own, building their companies up from nothing, Chin said.

So why is there such a marked difference between the approaches of the two groups of tycoons in this election?

"My best guess is that the Chinese tycoons don't trust people outside their business, so they want to get involved directly. They also want direct control," Chin said.

As the bumiputera tycoons came from a different background, where they accumulate their wealth through government contracts, perhaps they do not feel as strong a need to have direct control, he speculated.

However, Gomez said it needed to be looked at on a case-by-case basis, where the approaches taken would depend on the interests of the individual business tycoons.

"Do they really want to be in the public eye, or would they prefer to have a more covert role?" he said.

Worrying new trend

He also explained that having business tycoons entering politics directly in Malaysia is a new trend, while the old trend was to just fund parties in the election.

"There is a shift in trends in terms of how businessmen are entering the political process.

"Nowadays, businessmen can choose which route they want to take to capture control of the political process and you're seeing the different routes being played out now, in this Sarawak state election," Gomez said.

This new trend of businessmen entering politics directly is most exemplified by the United States’ Republican presidential nomination candidate Donald Trump, he pointed out.

"Donald Trump is a classic example of a businessman who used to fund politicians before and now he's thinking, 'why should I bother to fund them, I might as well just enter the political process and become part of the political elite, even become the president and thereby control the state," Gomez explained.

Chinese tycoons, he said, are now thinking along the same lines as Trump.

However, Gomez warned that there could be serious repercussions from having businessmen enter politics directly, stressing that this would not be a good trend.

"It's their right (to contest in elections), but if they want to enter the process and run a fair election campaign, you have to reform the financing of politics and election laws, to make sure there's proper accountability and transparency in the financing of the elections," he explained.

This is especially so because right now, the funding of parties is something that is extremely covert, where their sources are unknown and they are not required by law to disclose their sources, Gomez said.

It would also be very problematic, he added, if businessmen start controlling the political process directly, as they would then be able to influence public policies that might be in their corporate interests, instead of the people's interests. --Mkini