No easy ride for DAP in Sandakan

The late Stephen Wong won the Sandakan seat in GE14 with a runaway majority of more than 10,000 votes. Her grieving daughter, Vivian (above, wearing cap), might not have it that easy on May 11.

However, there is little doubt that DAP will retain Sandakan, an urban parliamentary seat in the heart of Sabah’s second largest city. The question is the size of the majority.

SAPP president and a former Sabah chief minister, Yong Teck Lee, has acknowledged that he has appealed to Sandakan voters to reduce the majority of the DAP candidate as a protest against Pakatan Harapan for reneging on many of its election promises.

Leading the Chinese-based SAPP, Yong should know the sentiments of Sabah Chinese better than most. He himself had won and lost in many elections. Today, SAPP has joined hands with a group of local parties to form an opposition coalition.

Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal (below) is also right to caution the Harapan coalition not to be over-confident, saying a lot of hard work is necessary to secure victory.

And Shafie has led the way, virtually camping in Sandakan over the past week and hitting the campaign trail daily for Vivian and the DAP. To the chief minister, a victory for his allies in Harapan is important as the Sandakan by-election is the first test of his leadership as the chief executive of Sabah.

I am glad Shafie has reminded elected representatives in Sabah to refrain from seeking luxuries for themselves, telling them that “we don't need to live in 10-room mansions”.

This resonates with the common folk. People will remember how some Sabah DAP representatives became 'Datuks' almost immediately after winning in GE14. Raising one’s personal status is all about self-glorification, if these few must be told.

This is also in sync with Shafie’s message.

I support DAP’s move to field younger candidates as they are the future of the party. However, I would also question the readiness and capability of some young DAP lawmakers for the job.

I have been observing MPs in action in Parliament and the performance of some of them, not only from DAP but from PKR as well, has been left wanting.

MPs are expected to be knowledgeable, quick to react and be reasonably good speakers. That means they must be fluent in Bahasa Malaysia.

I have seen MPs only standing up to pose their questions during ‘Question Time,’ but remaining deaf and dumb for the duration of the sitting. They were unable to ask supplementary questions and were certainly no match for the Umno and PAS legislators because of their lack of proficiency in BM.

To Vivian Wong, please brush up your BM. I have viewed videos of her speaking at ceremah sessions and her local Malay (in Kuching, we call it “Bazaar Malay”) “tak boleh pakai di Dewan Rakyat”. Do take this as an advice, not a criticism.

One more thing, Miss Vivian. There is no need for photo calls when you go out cleaning cemeteries or clearing rubbish from the streets. Those are cheap stunts from the past. In an urban setting, those stunts are quite embarrassing, to be honest.

Next time, when you partake in gotong-royong projects on a lazy weekend, just do it quietly. Don’t embarrass yourself by dragging Sandakan reporters/photographers along. Again, consider this as sincere advice. 

PBS’ Linda Tsen (above, right) is certainly more experienced compared to her young DAP opponent. A former MP, she would be able to dive immediately into her role in Parliament. Whether she had shone or not in her previous term as Batu Sapi MP, I reserve comment as I do not have the slightest idea.

But I thought Tsen did the right thing by distancing herself from Umno and PAS leaders who were in Sandakan to campaign for her and PBS. It was a Catch-22 imbroglio for her. Understandably so. How would you tell others not to come and campaign for you? That would be the worst misstep for a candidate fighting an uphill battle in an election.

Before I forget, I must also thank Bung Moktar Radin's promise to deliver 9,700 Umno votes for PBS. We need some light entertainment, too, in the midst of an electoral battle. So thank you, Bung.

Besides Shafie leading the Harapan charge in Sandakan, other top guns – Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and others – also descended upon Sandakan. This proves that Harapan is not taking things for granted.

These senior leaders are probably aware of what Sabah voters are capable of. History has shown how the people of Sabah voted out Usno, Berjaya, PBS and BN and changed the state government at regular intervals.

I have to salute the people of Sabah for their political acumen and maturity in kicking out the ruling parties after they had enough of them, rightly or wrongly.

I wish my fellow Sarawakians were of the same breed. But no, Sarawakians are more docile, more apathetic and, I have to say this, more paloi (stupid). We allowed Taib Mahmud to be the chief minister for 33 long years, giving him free rein to suck our homeland dry. Are we, Sarawakians, not paloi?

To the voters in Sandakan, I trust you know what best to do come May 11. You, Sabahans, are more politically mature than me, a paloi Sarawakian. Show the world what you would do to politicians and parties that are not worthy of your support.

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