By Peter Sibon
KUCHING, May 11: Liken political manoeuvring to duck paddling, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing says politicians may seen moving around gracefully but they are actually “paddling like mad”.
Masing said he was not surprised by the change of stance of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) which has shifted from being a ruling coalition friendly party to a full-fledged opposition entity.
“Such a political shift happens all the time not only in Sarawak or Malaysia but throughout the world. Shifting of power has been in history. So, the shifting of power here (in Sarawak politics) is not a surprise to me at all.
“When you change your opinion, you are shifting your allegiance and your priority in a manner where non-politicians find it a bit perplexing, a bit hard to comprehend.
“But I told the people that politics is just like a duck swimming in the pond. While you can see the duck swimming smoothly, you can’t see its feet paddling underneath the water. The duck is paddling like mad. But you don’t see it.
“That’s how politics is. You can’t see the struggle down there. There are a lot of movements that you can’t see. If you don’t move, then the fish will eat you up,” Masing explained.
Similarly, he said, even in a strong and stable political party, there were still plenty of of such movements which outsiders could not see and understand.
“What you see now is nothing new. As I have said, politics is like a duck swimming in the water. What you see seems to be very smooth but underneath, there is plenty of fighting even in a very stable party,” Masing told DayakDaily at his office at Wisma BaitulMakmur today.
He quoted former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill who made the statement that “if the public just know 20 per cent of what the politicians were doing, they won’t be able to sleep”.
“So politics is only for the strong-hearted and for those who accept defeat as well as victory. All in one package,” added Masing.
Meanwhile, Masing who is also Deputy Chief Minister expressed the confidence that the State ruling coalition – Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will perform better in the upcoming Sarawak Election which must be held next year by June.
In the last State election, the ruling coalition won 70 out of 82 seats in the State Legislative Assembly.
“GPS will not perform any worse. It can even be more than that (70 seats won in 2016),” said Masing. — DayakDaily
