By Amde Sidik

It is strange that more and more Umno leaders have come to give their so-called moral support to Sarawk Barisan Nasional when its chief minister Adenan Satem has said before that he does not need Umno in Sarawak and would resign if the party’s branches were opened in his state.

This sort of “wayang” has infuriated Opposition parties, some of whom have had to resort to online campaigns to reach out to Sarawakians in the run-up to the state election come May 7.

I think however that many Sarawakians have already made up their minds with or without the influence of the country’s Opposition parties. Various agencies have already predicted that Sarawak BN has no problem achieving a two-third majority, leaving many of us wondering just how impressive Adenan’s victory really is.

Sarawakian voters may not think the same way as voters in the Peninsula. There is no issue either of phantom voters unlike in Sabah and the Peninsula.

The main attraction this time around is Adenan himself, who is the pulling factor in Sarawak. Other than the chief minister, there is nothing really that can be considered new. People in general want to see if Adenan can deliver his mother of all promises – that Sarawak be made an autonomous state.

For Sarawakians, the logic is clear – Sarawak was a nation on its own before it decided to form part of Malaysia. Thus it is envisaged Sarawak can survive on its own if it chooses to but Adenan has been careful not to cross the line, making it clear instead that Sarawak is part of Malaysia. What he meant by “autonomous” was based on interpretations of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

What is wrong with Adenan’s idea?

This concept of autonomy has no fixed political definitions so to speak but suffice to say that there are several ways in which a state, territory, region, island and city can be created, and be made autonomous.

The most common is via the recognition of international bodies such as the United Nations – territories like Hong Kong, Macau and Northern Island are good examples. Internal recognition, in the form of the nation’s statutes is another way. Examples are Torres Strait Island of Australia, Easter Island of Chile and Acheh. The same applies to recognition of autonomous cities like Jakarta, Buenos Aires or the Vatican City. As such there is no hard and fast rule for a state, territory or region to fall under the category of being autonomous.

Adenan has in mind what the state government should be in control of, most of which has been well accepted by the Opposition including leaders in Sabah. This is where Borneo politics is slightly different from Peninsular politics.

In the eyes of Sabahans and Sarawakians, Federal Government leaders have little interest for the sentiments of those in the Borneo states. Many of them have either not read the agreement, or if they have, understand it. To put it crudely, even the Prime Minister is not on the same page with the Chief Minister of Sarawak although both smile ear to ear when in each other’s company.

What will the non-local based Opposition have to say? I think they are trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea. It is thus no surprise that now they have to fight among themselves.

Amde Sidik is an author and researcher with PIPPA-Progressive Institute of Public Policy Analysis and the deputy–president of SAPP.

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