Sarawak Trilogy ~ Road to 22nd Floor (Part 1) : Dayaks..?

The successor to Taibs Mahmuds chair in the 22nd floor is the talk of the town in the last few days. The passing of two Sarawak Patriots-James Wong and Tra Zehnder has even overshadowed the bullet train tragedy in China in which over 36 lives were losts. Why 22nd Floor..?? {We have the US”Oval Office” UK ” No.10 Downing street” and nearer home Malaysia”Putrajaya.“}

This is the floor where the State administration of the Chief Ministers Office is and where many decisions have been thought of and are made by the CM in office. Our Emeritus professor questioned audie61,”Who will the Dayaks accept assuming he names his successor.?”

There are 3 A’s being mentioned while another “A” watches from the wings. The Sarawak bookmakers have closed their ‘bets” on these three frontrunners. The 3 A Batteries which are still flickering despite been promised so much since 1995 when the CM said he is grooming a successor.

Of course there were others who were potentially CM material in the names of Effendy Norwawi and Abang Abu Bakar but they have since been overtaken by the political realities of the day. The 3 “As” are none other than Adenan,Abang and Awang. There are fondly named as such but each has a nick name closely associated and lingers with them.

We know a bit more than what we are going to write as some of it are “CLASSIFIED” or we will be in hot soup similar to the blogger sued by Rais Yatim. Gutter or personal politics is not our forte but we love to intrique and thats why former MP Sim Kwang Yang said,”give us more details so we can elaborate.”However we have steadfastly maintain the golden rule taught by our late journalist friend SC Chan to tell them “Isn’t it better for me to know and you to find out.?”

Why the dayaks? Of course In Sarawak they make up the majority in population and ever since Jugah,Tawi Sli,Ningkan it has been taken over by the Melanaus. Surely,its high time a Malay leader take over and the 3 persons in question fits the bill perfectly.

PBB being the mainstay of the BN coalition will be the main player in the successors quests for the top chair but its still the people of Sarawak and the warlords who will determine who succeeds Taib. Taibs 48 years in office brings another page to the Taibs book to the handing over and that is WHEN?  The dayaks within the BN coalition and  in PBB will have a big say no matter how CM Taib wants. Of late,the dayaks have been manouvering and are in complete reverse to CMs thoughts.

In front of him its all yes but when they gather amongst the elite dayaks they say why should they just give him the privelege and chance to name his successor. We should take back what is ours is the gameplan now. The dayaks can say what they want but in terms of“political cloud and wealth” they are still struggling miles away. This factor alone puts us on the platform to see who gets the better odds to stay ahead in the eyes of the BOOKMAKERS.

Adenan Satem experienced veteran who has served both State and Federal is known amongst the younger set of dayaks as ‘YB Robot”.His walk and actions are so similar to a robotic dance sequence and he seems to be controlled by someone from another room invisible to all. His relationship at the bests of times has not been very cordial with the Chief Minister and he has had his differences with the top man. It seems that all the sandiwaras being played out are part and parcel of the “melanau dynasties” grip of power. The family is getting bigger each year and anyone of the Tun/Taib proteges are ever ready to be given the chair but still the dayaks are determined not to see it happen. Our Part 2 will shed more light to this.

Abang Johari has practically been through every department in the State but his cronies says their boss path are still very clouded and he needs to wipe the ‘mists” from his spectacles. His falling out and his ‘supposedly”tendered resignation when Effendy did not seem to work well with him has put a strong obstacle for him.The dayaks call him “YB Hampir Dekat Aja” The dayaks does feel comfortable with him alone helming the chair but its his ‘cronies,business partners” which has hampered his assension to the throne. These few people who names are withheld needs to be stay out of the way as they stand out even in darkness like a beacon of light from the LIGHTHOUSE.

The dayaks still look upon Abang Jo as a man who they can put their hopes on in so far as if the vacancy is made available not by choice but by destiny. There remains a single ray of light across the darkened pathway which Abang Jo needs to take to overcome the odds. The dayaks will have their utmosts reservations in others being considered as they too will have juggle and ensure the ‘mists” is wiped off his spectacles.

Awang Tengah seems to be CMs favourite “delivery boy” which is nothing new in the Melanau inner circles. He is being used to balance up the 2 “As” which depicts his name “inbetween” but his rise to stardom has been hampered by ‘land grabbing issues” and also cutting loose CM’s trusted lieutenants and having a hand in all three BN political parties. The ruthless streak that Tengah has is being turned round against him. The dayaks are looking at his inlaws and brothers for his predicament and they are the ones who are carrying out his tasks.

He feels the obligation to carry out the works for CM Taib eventhough Tengah was pushed into the limelight by Abang Johari. CM Taib has used all methods and ways to push Tengah to a brink of extinction but he has come back fighting with more zest and energy. The dayaks sees him as ruthless as his boss Taib though he paints himself as a picture of GODLINNESS. His smile and charm can sweep any ladies off the floor and his canny words used will convince the business community to believe him.

The dayaks are watching him closely but it seems that he is building a garrison of dayak lieutenants and an army behind him to eventually trusts himself as the rightful heir to the coveted prize. He is sizing all alternatives and has even got his hands ‘dirtied’ by mixing himself in other component parties politics. He was pushed to the corner by journalists on the issues surrounding the “skirmishes and infightings” of the BN parties in Sarawak but he just smiled and it was enough to say “I am innocent unless proven guilty“

This is trademark and his whispers now are worse than his written actions and many in the political circles are guarded against making the wrong moves to incur the wrath of his so called “middle rats“. The dayaks though saying they are not afraid are watching over their shoulders and hoping that Adenan,Abang or someone else takes the position rather than Awang.

The 22nd floor is not within reach of another A eventhough he is not thrusts into the limelight. This has something to do with the Tun factor and where and when his political brain wave goes into overdrive. Tun saw all the necessary opportunities”used all the political tricks” in taking over the chair and making it extremely difficult for the dayaks to win it back. He has a young successor in his nephew and knows that in time even amongst the family there will be so much infighting.

Tun has indicated in so many words that his daughter will be watching closely in the wings until another of Taibs nephews/granchildren is ready to take over. The warlords in the state administration are giving their latests information through smses,bb messengers,whatsapp or even emails to inform the ‘Almighty Brain in Sarawak”  He is never off the line and he pulls his punches by reverse psychology which many dayaks failed to see. Its his god given political moves which has kept the sanctity of Sarawak to be ruled by the family instead of the UMNO family. The dayaks still sees the melanaus in power as a trusted brother to the eventual coming of the UMNO into Sarawak. Will they..??

Ali Mahmud the other A is the guardian angel of the State administration and eventhough he is not in the picture mosts times he holds the ‘purses and the strings” for his dear brother. He alone has enough knowledge of the inner dealings which puts him as the ‘darkhorse” eventhough many does not even have him in their books or ‘betting slips” He was nearly pushed out of the state elections by some ‘dirty moves” within his close circles and now he is more cunning and meticulously going through every details to avoid similar “dirt being hung” . He holds close the elders in the inner circles and by and far he knows that he has been given the burden so to speak to look after his elder brothers back.

Taib doesn’t seem to be too bothered that Ali is not his favourite brother but one will clearly point to the fact that “blood is thicker than water.” The dayaks takes a very nice and casual approach to Ali and he is ever willing to give a helping hand and under his watch his constituency has progressed by leaps and bounds without much fanfare. The dayaks will not have much grievances to pour out against Ali if his brother is pushed to abdicate his power. Ali will used his cool and calculated approach to ensure his brother Taib be remembered for his politics of development. All the ill dealings will be camouflage and be pushed to ‘scapegoats‘ who will not know what hit them.

The circle of A’s is very synonymous to Sarawak. They are 3 A’s in Sarawak and when Taibs reign is over another A will have a chance to grab the golden prize. I would not be too far behind as my name has intials of Two(2) A’s. Well it could turn out to be true as the melanau blood flows in me and my name would eventually be Azahari Ali.

Emeritus Professor said,”God knows and one can never go against the forces of nature and destiny.” The dayaks will need to weigh the options closely and will need to sleep with one eye open. The clock has already started ticking for Taib. Taib feels his time is not near but forces are out to get him and the dayaks will have a big say who eventually takes over.

Clearly all the A’s stands a good chance. One of the dayaks “A” will try to push himself for a period but he too will eventually succumb to the others outmaneuvering him. The 22nd floor is calling for a new owner and its only a matter of time.

Is it only the DAYAKS who will accept?