Sarawak politics - it is time for Taib Mahmud to go

It is interesthing to note that Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, Abdullah Badawi said that he knew something was amiss in Sarawak but he could not make it public, instead he will let chief minister Taib Mahmud know about it.

Logically, this means that Abdullah has been given the feedback by the normal sources namely the Special Branch, the Military Intelligence and various government agencies, that the people of Sarawak by and large want Taib to retire.

For example, the Chinese of Sibu rejected the SUPP, the Chinese-based political party led by deputy chief minister George Chan, because they hate the fact that Taib had Chan by the *@##&.

The fact is that nobody, especially politicians, is indispensable. By clinging to power for the seventh term, Taib is telling Sarawakians and all of us, Abdullah and Najib included, that he is indispensable. But, the results of the Sarawak election show the votes obtained by the BN had drastically dropped.

In Malaysia, the Chinese voters always have no second thought or no qualms about speaking their mind through the ballot box. The just did that in Sarawak.

Unlike the Chinese, the Malays and Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak, don't have the guts to do so. We, the Malays and Bumiputeras, talk about unhappiness and dissatisfaction and we talk about our disgust for this politician or that politician but only at teh tarik stalls or coffee shops.

This ie because we are "trapped" in having to depend on the government for almost everything in our daily lives, even for primary school text-books, let alone scholarships and subsidies.

While the Chinese are very independent and can be on their own, in fact they are mostly on their own and don't want to be disturbed. They prefer to be left alone to fend for themselves and, believe me, they are the most professional people in Malaysia in whatever they do. Even if they want to commit robbery, they will do it in a big way, not just to scoop ten, twenty or a hundred thousand ringgits. They go for million of ringgits, hide the money somewhere, go to jail and after a few years, enjoy the freedom with plenty of cash.

For the Chinese, there is no half-past six or half-way. If they want to be a mechanic, they will give your car the best treatment, unlike most of other mechanics including Malays. Yes, it is a bitter pill to swallow but it is a reality.

The Sarawak election is a clear signal to national leaders, UMNO in particular, that the Chinese voters will tip the balance in the next general election. As for the state legislative assemblies, there might be changes in Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak and Penang.