James Masing: The ‘naughty boy’ in Sarawak’s cabinet

I first met Dr James Jemut Masing in the early 80s – more than 35 years ago. We were young men then, never mind that he is seven years my senior.

The occasion was the Sarawak DAP Convention on Democratic Reforms and Masing and I were members of the panel. We were invited by the newly-elected MP for Bandar Kuching, Sim Kwang Yang.

The DAP event, held at Holiday Inn Kuching, was a “big deal” for Sarawak DAP. The party captured two parliamentary seats in Sarawak for the first time in the 1982 general election. Sim won Bandar Kuching while his colleague, Ling Sie Ming, defeated SUPP strongman Dr Wong Soon Kai in Bandar Sibu.

I was actually quite surprised when former Sarawak chief minister Abdul Rahman Yakub was on hand to officiate at the opening ceremony. An erstwhile adversary given the highest honour at a DAP do – this has to be politics at its best!

Masing was on the panel as a forthcoming leader of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) while I represented the local press club in Kuching.

After the event, Masing and I did not keep in touch until many years later. As PBDS was in the opposition in Sarawak, I suppose Masing was in the political wilderness. I also left my home state for a few years to take up a posting in Sabah.

Masing was back in the political limelight when PBDS was re-admitted into the Sarawak BN in 1994. By then, Masing was already a senior PBDS leader and then chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud appointed him a minister. He has been in the Sarawak cabinet ever since.

Resounding victory

After the 2016 state election, Masing was appointed deputy chief minister by the new chief minister then, Adenan Satem, much to the surprise of many. I suppose the late chief minister thought Masing was deserving of the promotion because he had led his Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) to a resounding victory in the elections.

In recent years, I’ve noticed that Masing has been very outspoken on many issues, especially those affecting the Dayak community. Perhaps Masing thinks that the interests of the Dayaks now weigh heavily on his shoulders as his PRS is now the biggest Dayak-based BN party.

Some time ago, I contacted Masing for the purpose of an article, asking him why he suddenly seems much more radical than his normal self.

He messaged me: “Francis, you can quote me on this. I would rather die with my principles and integrity intact and speak the truth than live on bended knees.”

Well, I suppose a politician changes his priorities and views as he gets older and after having reached the top of his political career. The ambition has been achieved, so it’s okay now to take risks.

I believe this is the case with Masing, so much so that he is now branded the “naughty boy” in the cabinet. His detractors claim that he is merely playing to the gallery but I do not think so, having known the man and his character for so long.

It isn’t a good feeling being walloped by your cabinet colleagues in the media, almost every other week and this is what is happening to Masing the past year.

Before GE14, Masing strongly opposed any attempt by BN leaders to nominate candidates on behalf of his party, stating that “who else knows better than the party itself?” He was whacked by his BN colleagues.

Public support

Last month, Masing stressed that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leaders must be good listeners and take the views of its smaller coalition partners into account. He warned that GPS could suffer the same fate as BN if PBB is too dominant and refuses to listen to inputs from others. Again, he was whacked by his GPS colleagues.

Last week, Masing ticked off Talib Zulpilip, the special minister in the Chief Minister’s Office, for insinuating that Dayaks and Chinese are not as smart as the Malays and “that is the reason why civil servants are mostly Malays as they were chosen from a meritocracy selection programme”.

The DCM wanted the civil service to reflect the social fabric of Sarawak society and stated that meritocracy would not discriminate against the Chinese and Dayaks as they are just as capable as the Malays.

Immediately, Masing was told off by PBB leaders, including his junior cabinet colleague, sports minister Abdul Karim Hamzah, and Santubong MP Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

Not surprisingly, Masing garnered much public support for his latest statement. One writer, going by the name of “Kumang Mengarung”, called on all Sarawakians to put aside their political differences and support Masing’s motion.

He also requested all Dayak NGOs to jointly organise a conference, featuring a live debate with Talib, as his insinuation is intolerable in multi-racial Sarawak.

Well. A naughty boy will also receive public accolades if you are naughty in the right way.

And I hope Masing will continue to be naughty as long as he is still in the cabinet. He has been a good boy for far too long.

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FRANCIS PAUL SIAH heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) and can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com -Mkini