The paradox of Sarawak politics

Tuesday October 5, 2010 The paradox of Sarawak politics CERITALAH By KARIM RASLAN newsdesk@thestar.com.my While the urban electorate can turn their backs on the government of the day, rural Sarawakians are very dependent on developmental politics. TRAVELLING through Sarawak has prompted me to think about the fundamental paradoxes that lie at the heart of governance in Malaysia. While they’re at their most pronounced in Sarawak, the themes and challenges are pretty much uniform wherever you go in the country. As in the peninsula, the cities and towns of Sarawak have turned against Barisan Nasional. At the same time, most rural areas remain solidly “blue”. It’s a mirror image of what is happening across the South China Sea (with the notable exception of Kelantan). So what’s the contradiction? Well, those who have benefited the most from Barisan’s developmental politics — namely urban Malaysians of all races — have become the ruling coalition’s toughest critics. They’re not thankful supplicants, kissing the hands of the local MP or state assemblyman. Ordinary Malaysians want more, and they want it now. In their eyes, legislators are just “public servants” whose emphasis should be on serving. The critical factor is that urban Malaysians are no longer dependent on Barisan for basic amenities like water, housing or electricity. Besides that, many now work in the private sector. Their livelihoods are no longer solely dependent on political influence. Because of this, they’re able to turn their backs on the patronage and service “machine” that empowered them and, indeed, their parents’ generation. Educated and well-informed, they’ve started questioning the way Barisan has governed for decades. They deplore controversial use of public funds. They want greater openness and transparency. Voters are smart. They understand the connection between civil liberties and government services. They know that a strong media will question and probe the deals that have driven up the cost of many public projects. Still, tight media controls have not stopped the public from being highly critical of the leaders proffered by Barisan. Surely there must be hundreds, if not thousands, of highly-educated Malay professionals to be recruited. Why don’t these men and women want to join Umno? The failure to recruit the best human resource lies at the core of Umno’s continuing failure to win back the urban Malay middle class. It also reinforces my point as the products of the NEP turn their back on the original “agent” of change — namely Umno. The same dilemma is slowly emerging in Sarawak. Take Sibu, the business hub of the Rajang river basin, for example. The city is remarkably clean, organised, and safe. Indeed, the covered market — surely one of the largest in the country — is an impressive sight. As we all know, the city’s voters rejected Barisan in spectacular fashion in a by-election only months ago. This was a calculated, considered move by Sibu’s predominantly Foochow Chinese community, who knew they could manage without government assistance. However, the same is not true of the small long-house communities beyond the city limits. The disparities between these areas and the urban centres are stark. Roads shrink and eventually disappear in rural Sarawak. Running water is also a major problem, especially during the dry season. Many of the longhouses must rely on large water tanks and elaborate rain-water traps to survive. In certain cases, the local rivers have also been polluted by the use of industrial-scale fertilisers in nearby plantations or pig farming. Difficulties in enforcing Native Customary Rights over the land also often result in the dislocation of these communities. The haphazard access to public utilities and property rights have made rural Sarawakians very dependent on developmental politics. Sarawak’s rural poor realise that only the state government of the day can help them. They therefore keep voting for Barisan representatives in the hope that their needs will eventually be met. Therein lays the contradiction for Barisan: providing these services would mean an inevitable loss of rural support. As a consequence, Sarawak’s piece-meal development of the interior reinforces Barisan control. Indeed, it makes communities more wary of challenging authority. Needless to say, this is no way to achieve ETP, NEM, 1Malaysia or any of the ambitious goals we have set ourselves as a nation. Development is not a reward, it is a right. Solving the paradox, however, comes at an exceedingly high political cost. But then again, Barisan has no choice: we simply cannot go on like this.