By Karen Bong
KUCHING, June 6: Santubong MP Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar is worried that Pakatan Harapan (PH)’s U-turn syndrome may eventually affect Sarawakians politically.
Arguing that U-turns are negative, he told reporters at his Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house today that the practice is “deceit and a lie” in reality because it concealed the real intentions of the government.
“This is not just merely a U-turning move. It is a lie … you (PH) bluffed the people,” he said.
“What we fear is that this practice by PH will be followed by us. Everybody is not telling the truth, the rakyat will be confused, and they will become the victims.”
He cited Latheefa Koya’s appointment as the new Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief as a U-turn as the decision lacked transparency. The failures to remove highway tolls and to provide free education are also U-turns and lies, he added.
Hence, the veteran politician reiterated that the Sarawak government must deliver whatever it had promised.
“Every time I have spoken to the chief minister (Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg), I emphasised to him that whatever that have been promised to the people, they must be delivered.
“To renege and go back on your word is not a good practice because no country can move forward with constant U-turns,” he opined.
Wan Junaidi added that if what was promised hit obstacles, this must be clearly explained to the people but “it must go on no matter how unpopular (it is) because when you made up your mind that this is good for the state, we will support you”.
On whether PH’s weakness in this aspect would be exploited by Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the state election that is due in 2021, Wan Junaidi replied in the affirmative.
“PH leaders should not talk big; satisfy the requirements first and tell the truth. For the many lies that led PH to win the election, the same lies could also bring the PH down.
“That’s why the best (principle to uphold) in politics is to never tell lies and never promise things you cannot deliver,” he reiterated.
Since day one of entering politics in the 1990s, Wan Junaidi said he had maintained this philosophy that had enabled him to stay popular in his constituency.
“In the 2018 general election, everybody plunged and PH secured some 6,000 votes in my constituency. But then, my popularity as a person increased by 3,000 votes. In fact, 2013 was the best year for my performance in BN, as I remained on top with 86.6 per cent voting for me in the Santubong constituency.
“My principle is very simple — never promise things you can’t deliver. Never tell lies, don’t hide anything, tell people the truth, don’t be the big boss when you go down to the ground and delegate a lot of authority to the local people and community leaders,” he added.
In Muara Tebas, for example, in which 90 per cent of the people supported him, he said it was because he gave the people what they needed, including a school the community had waited for for 40 years, lifted Section 47 of the Land Code, a big community hall as well as facilitating the building of temples and churches.
On his thoughts of PH coming up with a manifesto for the state election, Wan Junaidi advised the people to examine the previous manifesto first.
“They (PH) think Sarawak people are not very smart. They think Malayans are smarter than Sarawakians. So, make sure Sarawak is better than them … cannot be easily bluffed.
“(Dr) Mahathir has urged people not to penalise the party because of the manifesto. Of course, we’ve got to penalise the party because the manifesto did not pop up out of nowhere but was put together by the party,” he reasoned. — DayakDaily
