Sarawakians must reject bad political culture brought from Peninsular Malaysia, says Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
According to him, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)-led state government would exercise its power to prevent such ‘foreign’ culture from entering Sarawak and influencing its people.
Sarawak’s immigration power, he points out, must be protected at all cost to prevent the entry of such culture that is not appropriate in Sarawak.
Abang Johari, who is also GPS chairman, says while he is not scolding the peninsula people, at times they can ‘just too extreme’.
This ex-BN outfit is seeking to impress Sarawakians with a very old story line that they have pulled out time and again for decades – in the same way they have time and again promised ‘progress and development” that has never happened.
These guys posture as ‘independent’ leaders, fighting to ‘keep UMNO out of Sarawak’ and now presumably Pakatan, DAP and Bersatu. But, the truth of the matter is these Taib cronies have always proved willing to act the catspaw of whoever is in power in the federal governmnent as long as they can be left alone to plunder their own people.
Hence the moment BN lost GE14 they switched sides and pledged support for PH instead – some independence!
What these Taib cronies actually don’t want to see is the Culture of Clean-Up entering Sarawak, They don’t want any investigations or dreaded prosecutions of greedy kleptocrats to start entering their shores as is now happening in the rest of Malaysia, including in neighbouring Sabah, where the people are pleased to see their local crooks being brought to justice.
And heaven forbid there should be any ‘quarrelling’ about who should be leader. What ‘foreign’ nonsense!
In Sarawak Taib decides who is the boss and ultimately it is himself and his ancient team of cronies, who have run the state and helped themselves for decades.
You can’t have anyone challenging the Taib family hegmony or allowing for ‘foreign ideas’ like the principle of democratic change, which was established at the time of independence but conveniently stifled from birth thanks to the ’emergency’ removal of a leader who stood up for native land rights.
So expect ‘immigration power’ to be used to keep out Bersih reformers, anti-corruption NGOs and PH politicians (though supposedly GPS’s federal allies) as well as the likes of Sarawak Report.
However, do not expect to see the removal big time UMNO crooks; dirty western and Chinese businessmen; PAS supremacists in their fancy cars (however much the CM may try to play the religion card) or any other of these sorts of foreign influences, who will remain welcome visitors to help Taib’s people pilfer the last of what is there is left to steal in Sarawak.
Meanwhile, the encroachment of West Malaysian culture and money politics over Sarawak life is something which these ex-BN now GPS leaders have in practice openly funded and encouraged over several decades. So, it is a bit late to pretend otherwise.