YOURSAY | Can Baru Bian make a difference in S’wak politics?

YOURSAY | ‘Baru should walk the talk by forming a coalition of Sarawak’s opposition parties.’

Baru Bian: PBB dominating GPS, other parties should consider quitting alliance

Mvarughi: Baru Bian, we had high regards for you as you battled the mighty Sarawak BN and the white Rajah for years without success.

We cheered when you succeeded in Ba’kelalan to become an assemblyperson and then against all expectations managed to win Selangau in GE14 to become MP.

Your act of betrayal to Pakatan Harapan dashed all our hopes. Although you stopped short of fully supporting the traitors, the damage had been done.

However, I guess it is not too late. As you pointed out, the PBB and GPS as a whole is the same bad apple as Sarawak BN who are no better than Umno.

They are plainly not the party to support any reforms as they will support the corrupt and racist as long as their political capital is protected.

Baru, you can make a difference - get your fellow turncoats from Sarawak PKR such as Ali Biju and Willy Mongin and together with reform-minded politicians from PRS, SUPP and PDS to stand as an independent block of progressive politicians from the state.

With five to 10 MPs on your side, based on the current dynamics, you could help bring down the questionable state government.

You could forever change the politics of Malaysia for the better and also bring pride to the non-Muslim natives of Sarawak after being enslaved for decades by PBB and the white Rajah.

Anonymous_1532341776: Baru, exactly where are you? First, you were in PKR then you were in Azmin's camp, then you were seen on Mahathir's side and now you claim you are independent.

You stood many times to get elected but you got chosen only under the PKR ticket and now you are trumpeting as a freelancer.

Anyway, though you have raised some legitimate points on GPS in Perikatan Nasional (PN), because of your wavering stand, it carries less integrity.

The Wakandan: To be fair to Baru, he is not the type that is purely bounded by power and money.

Politics to some extent denigrates a person but on the whole, he is a decent guy. That may explain why he did not follow former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali completely in the political turmoil that resulted in the change in government.

He did make a wrong association with the Azmin faction from which Baru found it hard to extricate himself or he was too deeply in to make an about-turn. The fact that he had to become independent shows his predicament.

PKR is relatively new to Sarawak unlike in the peninsula, so the situation is rather complicated.

While PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim was serving a jail term, Azmin built his personal empire. How he did it was actually to his credit because the Sarawakians were able to follow him even to the extent of becoming traitors to the party.

Strangely, the non-Malays of Azmin's faction would find themselves completely abandoned and lost in Azmin's new home of Bersatu where they were not allowed in since Bersatu is an exclusive club for the Malays.

When Anwar was freed, seeing what Azmin had done, he had to pick up the pieces to salvage his own power base. Put simply, PKR is a fractured party severely damaged by the power struggle of its leaders.

It has to start anew, afresh, perhaps led by a new generation of leaders untainted by the treachery of their previous ones.

Headhunter: Initially, I was very disappointed at Baru for quitting PKR. He was one of the few politicians that I respected. But looking at Sarawak PKR, I can see where he's coming from.

There were many in PKR who stabbed him in the back all for the sake of benefiting themselves. PKR is now hemmed by a recent recruit to the party - a young man who is known to jump from one party to another and a one-time blue-eyed boy of a Sarawak strongman. His rich father is well known for using his money to influence the direction of politics in Sarawak.

Baru should walk his talk by forming a coalition of all Sarawak’s opposition parties. Quite a few of the leaders are reform-minded, and although on the scene for some time but they have never been in mainstream politics. They are quite weak on their own with pockets of supporters.

Another point is, the Dayaks are the majority in Sarawak and yet politically they are very weak. Their leaders are more into politics for themselves to get rich quick and to hell with the rest.

The timing is perfect and the fact that Baru is not part of PN bodes well for him. I'm certain a few of his former colleagues known for their principles and leadership quality will be quite happy to join him.

Undecide: “Effectively, that is a statement that GPS has decided to support Umno again, after two years of their anti-Umno, anti-Malaya grandstanding,” Baru said.

“GPS, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. Sharing a bed with Umno/PAS and yet insisting that you are not married is too absurd for Sarawakians to swallow.”

Baru stands out in Sarawak's politics. I believe he is a true Sarawakian and his exit is PKR's and Harapan's loss. Despite his relationship with Azmin, at least he did not betray PKR's and Sarawak's multiracial aspirations.

Unlike his mentor, Azmin, he still has the sense to stay out of PN, a Malay-centric coalition which includes Umno/PAS. If he had, he would have been rewarded with a position like the betrayers.

Save: GPS is taking care of its own interest and not of the people of Sarawak.

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg is not a good leader in the state. The best Sarawak CM, in my opinion, is Adenan Satem. I respect him the most as he had done a lot of things for the people of Sarawak.

Baru is also a good person and I believe he had his own reason to quit PKR.

Vgeorgemy: Anyone who has known Sarawak politics would have stood far away from GPS as PBB will take all the available opportunity to suppress the smaller parties unless these smaller ones are doing the bidding for PBB.

These guys deserve it for betraying the trust and confidence of the voters.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.