The two sides of Taib Mahmud
Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily
I’ve noticed that after Taib Mahmud announced his decision to step down, his political reputation has received a drastic boost at a rate much faster than the CI on the local bourse since the start of the year.
Which is interesting.
In the past, the name Taib Mahmud would only bring on frustration and disgust. Pakatan’s firepower during the state elections and the more recent parliamentary elections was targeting specifically this guy, and indeed the trick paid off pretty well among urban voters, especially Chinese, who frowned at the thought of him.
Not to be outdone, BN supporters were equally crestfallen on mention of his name, pointing their fingers at him for causing the drain of ballots in urban constituencies.
Taib is finally calling it a day, which should by right serve as a morale booster for many, especially in some places in Sarawak.
But wait a minute. Things don’t seem to go this way! I could feel that there is not much celebration going on over his retirement. On the contrary, a faint air of uneasiness seems to have permeated the Land of the Hornbills.
Will Sarawak still remain the same after Taib?
What I was trying to say is that Sarawak has been an invincible fortress for the past 33 years under him, keeping itself safe from the peninsular politics, in particular Umno. The Umno-led ethnic thinking, Islamic tendency and sort have all been kept off limits.
The state can rightfully claim as having the most harmonious interracial relationship, non-race driven policies and religious freedom and equality anywhere in Malaysia.
No Malay or Islam supremacy discourse here, and government assistance for the underprivileged is handed out in a relatively fair manner regardless of race, making the state an indisputable Eden in the eyes of many a non-bumiputra living across the South China Sea.
And this has a lot to do with Taib’s policies and how he has been handling things.
He has said he adored Tunku most, and wanted to extend Tunku’s moderation approach. The power in his hand is sufficient to shut out intervention from West Malaysia.
After the court passed down a verdict on the use of the word “Allah” late last year, he immediately issued a statement specifying that the verdict would have no legal binding in the state of Sarawak, which would continue to permit the use of the word by non-Muslims.
