KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — Utusan Malaysia has told Barisan Nasional (BN) to ignore the Chinese community for not supporting the ruling coalition during yesterday’s Sarawak elections.
BN’s Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) lost more than two-thirds of the 19 seats it contested in a snub by the tiny but vociferous Chinese commuity.
In its weekend edition Mingguan Malaysia, columnist Awang Selamat stressed that re-elected Sarawak chief minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud’s new cabinet will reflect the “reality of the ballot box.”
“The average Chinese voters have rejected BN and supported DAP. Therefore the BN state government can no longer be too generous to give place to representatives from the community. Sarawak cabinet must be reflective of the decisions and attitude of the voters.
“Clear message must be sent. Taib must show gratitude to those that supported him and BN government,” said Awang in his article “New Reality.”
The columnist, whose pseudonym is used by Utusan editors, said that BN leaders must learn from the state election when preparing for the national polls.
“Once again, the attitude of the Chinese voters is clear in rejecting BN. Awang believes that sentiment of Chinese voters in the peninsular is also the same. The reality is that after dominating the economy for so long, the Chinese community wants to have greater influence and become a dominant political force.
“The campaign to change the state government seems to only be accepted by a majority of the Chinese voters. The Bumiputera community still remains strong with BN,” Awang added.
He said that BN must formulate a new strategy without depending on the support of the Chinese voters.
Awang said the ruling coalition must not fall into a trap of granting every demands of the community if they continue to vote for DAP.
“Let the support come naturally. If the Chinese voters continue to reject BN then we should not worry as there will be a way out,” Awang said.
The columnist also said that BN can still win in the general election without the support of the Chinese community.
“What is important is to empower the voters that are already loyal supporters. We should not pursue what we cannot get. The potential for BN to win is still huge with the growing support of the Bumiputeras, Malays, Indian and other ethnic communities.
“If there is additional support from a small percentage of Chinese voters then that is a bonus. All parties must be ready with the new reality,” said Awang.
Last night BN managed to keep its two-thirds legislative majority in Sarawak but the results have shattered the coalition’s invincibility and the notion of a fixed deposit in future elections.
The DAP doubled its presence to 12 in Chinese-majority seats while PKR tripled its representation although the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lynchpin had contested in 49 seats. PAS lost in all five seats it contested while Independent George Lagong took one seat.
The number of state seats to the Opposition pact will spell danger for BN as it could help them win more parliamentary seats when the general election is called by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. PR now has 75 MPs but the Sarawak win could translate into more in the future.MI
