Why didn't James Masing raise issues when Mahathir was the prime minister?

By Vernon Kedit

I refer to the statement by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing published in today’s Borneo Post under the heading "When Tun Mahathir had the power, he didn’t want to review MA63".

Vernon Kedit

Perhaps Masing needs to be reminded that Tun Mahathir alone does not determine the direction and policies of Pakatan Harapan.

Whether Tun Mahathir is sincere or not is not the issue. The issue is that Pakatan Harapan as a coalition has released the  Five Thrusts which is wholly supported by all the leaders in every political party in the coalition, including Tun Mahathir himself.

 In Pakatan Harapan, we decide by consensus and these thrusts were arrived at by consensus. When we win GE14, as a coalition, we will implement these thrusts for Sarawak.

Masing forgets his roots. He was an ardent Opposition leader during the early days of PBDS in the 1980s.

He led the charge against the injustices promulgated by Barisan Nasional in Parliament which systematically stripped away Sarawak’s rights which were done well before Tun’s time as Prime Minister. Then Masing joined Barisan Nasional and began to sing a different tune.

How long has  Masing been in power? More than long enough to insist that his colleagues in BN redress the wrongs committed by UMNO against Sarawak.

Did he go to Tun Mahathir and table amendments to the laws that downgraded Sarawak? Masing did no such thing, as far as the public knows.

Even if he did raise up issues behind closed doors, nothing has come of them. It has become common knowledge that Masing is very good at complaining in the newspapers but remains obediently silent in the Dewan where it matters. So, who has been insincere all this while?

How many MPs has PRS put in Parliament, and how many of them have spoken out against Tun Mahathir when he was the Prime Minister?

We can only surmise that they too follow the lead of their president by making some noise in the newspapers for show but when it comes to the real deal in Parliament, they are either absent during the vote for important matters pertaining to Sarawak or if they are present, they vote obediently according to the whims of UMNO.

The Hansard of Parliament is readily available and I will be more than happy to remind  Masing of the ‘sincerity’ of PRS MPs towards Sarawak and Sarawakians when they voted with UMNO against the rights of Sarawakians.

Need I remind him of when the Territorial Sea Act of 2012 was tabled, and most recently when the tourism tax fiasco was forced through?

At the end of the day, Masing will keep on singing his favourite song titled, ‘Jangan Lawan Tauke’.

It is his own sincerity which is now on public display. By pointing one finger at Tun Mahathir, four fingers are pointing back at him and his ADUNS and MPs who have failed Sarawakians not only during Tun Mahathir’s tenure as Prime Minister but up until today.

Tun Mahathir’s sincerity is not the issue; BN Sarawak’s insincerity is the glaring issue and that is why Pakatan Harapan’s 5 Thrusts is the only mechanism that Sarawakians can hope for to heal the festering wounds that BN has inflicted on Sarawak for 54 years.

Note: The writer is Information Chief of Pakatan Harapan Sarawak