Adenan’s surprise for Opposition ‘open secret’

If the details on the 11 new seats confirm the open secret, it would fuel public suspicion that the Election Commission (EC) is not an honest broker.

COMMENT

Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem had in recently days put the proverbial foot in his mouth and claimed that the Opposition is in for a surprise come the next state election, due mid-2016, but may be called much earlier.

Adenan’s statement in fact confirmed an “open secret”: that the ruling Barisan Nasional Sarawak is planning to use a proposed 11 seat increase in the State Assembly to its advantage.

The best guess estimates are that BN would use the new seats to wield a double-edged sword: reduce the number of Democratic Action Party (DAP) held seats, currently at 11; and prevent Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) picking any more than the three seats it currently holds.

If the details on the 11 new seats confirm the open secret, it would fuel public suspicion no matter what spin is put on it, that the Election Commission (EC) is not an honest broker and is in fact in cahoots with the ruling party.

It’s unlikely that the process of creating the 11 new seats would go unchallenged.

Padungan Assemblyman Wong King Wei said it best when he reserved support on Tues for the DUN (Composition of Membership) Bill 2014 “until it’s clear why the Sarawak Government wants to increase the number of state seats from 71 to 82”.

The Assemblyman is not sure that the proposal is entirely in line with Articles 116 and 117 of the Federal Constitution and the provisions in the 13th Schedule.

“If we just pass this bill without any due consideration for the principles relating to delineation, this August house is put to a great risk in amending the State Constitution in violation of the Federal Constitution.”

This is something very serious, he warned, and may render the said Ordinance to be declared invalid by the Court of Law.

It’s clear from this where the Dap, at least, is headed . . . to Court to challenge the creation of the 11 new seats. In the event the gamble on the Courts fail, the Opposition would have to strategize on how it can best fend off the surprise that Adenan has in store for them.

It’s may be an uphill battle here i.e. coping with the surprise when it was planning its own surprise until the hudud issue threw a spanner in the works.

DAP has made it clear that hudud should not be mentioned in Sarawak or else it would go its own way. Between the 11 seats and hudud, PR Sarawak is in deep trouble.

Adenan has already publicly rejected hudud in Sarawak.

PKR, side-stepping the hudud issue, is likely to affirm its commitment to Pakatan Rakyat’s Common Policy Framework (CPR). The CPR doesn’t mention hudud.

It’s by no means clear that PAS can do the same sidestepping as PKR if DAP demands at the same time that it issue a statement rejecting hudud. Should DAP demand such a statement from PAS, it would have to demand the same thing from PKR.