KUALA
LUMPUR – Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s presence in Kuching today,
hours before Anwar Ibrahim and Lajim Ukin are to attend a gathering
there, has spawned rumours that the PKR de facto leader maybe closer to
his goal of convincing Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s men to switch camps
or declare their independence.
According to these sources, Najib’s “hasty” visit is aimed at
convincing Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu’s (PBB) 14 MPs to stay put with
Barisan Nasional.
Taib heads PBB, which is the lead party in the state BN coalition.
Speculations are rife that Sarawak including PBB will see some
defections in the days before the 13th general election, tipped to be
held anytime between September and Hari Raya Haji this year.
The grapevine is sizzling with names, among them are PBB’s Santubung
MP Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaffar and Petra Jaya MP Fadhillah Yusuf.
Anwar and Lajim, touted as Sabah Umno’s westcoast warlord, are
scheduled to hold a gathering in Kuching tomorrow. They are also
expected to hold a dialogue with Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat coalition
leaders and, according to a press statement issued yesterday, NGO
leaders were also invited.
Pre-empting Anwar’s visit, a worrried Najib and wife Rosmah are expected to buka puasa today with Taib and his delegation.
Najib is desperate to consolidate Sarawak’s support of BN given that
Sabah is in a precarious position and sources said the “PM is prepared
to do whatever it takes”.
Sarawak and Sabah have collectively 56 parliamentary seats. Sarawak
has 31 seats of which PBB holds 14, Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP)
was allocated seven, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (six) and Sarawak Progressive
Democratic Party (four).
Anwar is rumoured to have a personal deadline which was “Sept 16,
2012″ having had to suffer the grave embarrassment of an aborted attempt
to wrest Putrajaya on Sept 16, 2008.
Having been “severely embarrassed” by Umno, Anwar is hoping to go
into the 13th general election armed with more MPs on his side.
Najib’s personal assurance
Already on his “side” are Lajim and Tuaran MP Wilfred Bumburing, who defected from Sabah BN last month.
Rumours are that eight more MPs in Sabah may jump in the coming
weeks. Among the names most repeated are Ghapur Salleh (Kalabakan) and
Bung Mokthar (Kinabatangan).
A Sabah Umno deputy division chief Nasir Sakaran did not dismiss the
possibility of more Umno warlords joining Lajim and Bumburing.
According to him, it was now obvious that these men had been in negotiations with Anwar for sometime.
“They have no role in BN or its struggle. I believe they have long been in negotiation with Anwar,” he said.
Talks of defections in Sabah have not left Sarawak unscathed despite the heavy denials by BN federal and state leaders.
According to PBB insiders in Kuching, Najib, who simply cannot afford
dissent in Sarawak, wants to personally assure the 14 MPs and ensure
their support remains with BN.
“In this election, he sees them as his fixed deposit. He will also be
meeting with PRS, SPDP and SUPP leaders to gauge the mood in Sabah.
“Najib does not trust Taib but his hands are tied.
“He must heed Umno’s desire. Umno is only interested in Najib delivering a majority and the party remaining in power.
“If Najib upsets Taib, he will go to Anwar,” said the observer
alluding to recent report that Taib had allegedly met with Anwar in
Singapore in June.
But the meeting was short-circuited after Taib had to rush back to Kuching for a meeting.
It was later learnt that Taib met an emissary from Putrajaya and never returned to Singapore to continue discussions with Anwar.
A snubbed Anwar is believed to be romancing Taib’s boys with what PBB
Asajaya assemblyman Abdul Karim Hamzah described as “carrots that are
too good to be true”.
Najib’s presence in Sarawak, on the pretext of breaking fast, only
confirms that speculations that Anwar maybe getting closer to
politically bedding Taib’s MPs. – FMT
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