A final lap filled with sadness

The search and rescue team at the site where the helicopter crashed.

THE helicopter tragedy has overshadowed the Sarawak election campaign.

It is clear by now that there are no survivors after chunks of the broken aircraft were found and bodies recovered.

Prime Minister had been in an ebullient mood throughout the election campaign but it was a very solemn man who informed the media early yesterday morning that debris from the aircraft carrying six people had been found.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had lost two of his MPs, both of whom were from Umno and one of whom is a deputy minister.

It was a deep cut for him and he was clearly devastated. The mourning has begun and two critical by-elections lie ahead, but the show in Sarawak had to go on.

Najib cancelled one of his programmes but he later went to Bau, about an hour from Kuching, to campaign for Tasik Biru candidate Datuk Henry Harry Jenip.

He officiated at a community project mooted by the outgoing assemblyman Datuk Peter Nasian and thanked him for not sabotaging his would-be successor.

Yesterday was the day when the candidates and their parties gave it their all especially in Kuching and Sibu where the careers of big personalities are at stake.

The crowds were there and the amplifiers at all the ceramah seem to have been switched up to maximum but as one DAP politician admitted: “Lots of people but there is no feeling, not like last time (the 2011 election).”

Everything that needs to be said has been said. Everything is now in the hands of the voters.

A Kuching-based journalist had said that this would be “an election of least surprises” and how right he was.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem is on his way to winning a handsome mandate but the quality of the mandate will hinge on whether the Chinese pendulum swings back to Barisan Nasional. It will be defined by how many Chinese seats he can secure.

Adenan even had a cameo role in one of the most appealing campaign videos. The video revolves around SUPP, its president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian and their aspirations for a better Sarawak.

It comes with a melodic song and a surprise ending. As the video draws to a close, Dr Sim is seen ushering school children into a bas sekolah.

The “bus driver” turns around and asks, “Team, are we ready to go now?” to which Dr Sim replies, “Yes, let’s go”.

The “bus driver” shifts into gear and says, “Alright, let’s go”.

The “bus driver” was, of course, Adenan and the video was a testimony of how much he wants and needs SUPP, the Chinese dominant partner of Barisan, in his government.

For that to happen, he needs the Chinese to vote in SUPP. He has said that the voice for the Chinese is whether they want to have a say in the government or if they want to stay out there in angry isolation.

But the Chinese support is more than just the deputy chief minister post or about giving Adenan’s administration a more multi-ethnic image.

“It will be a test of whether moderation has a chance in our country,” said Fui Soong, CEO of the CENSE think-tank.

He has made numerous gestures to them, from slamming those who label the Chinese as pendatang to funding Chinese schools and recognising the schools’ Unified Examination Certificate.

But nothing has excited the Sarawakians as much as the way he has pushed the envelope on state autonomy, reflecting the aspirations of Sarawakians for a bigger say on how resources are spent in the state. And Adenan has been punching above his weight.

“It will be a setback for his leadership if the Chinese reject him,” said Soong.

Adnenan has won the admiration of many Malay moderates in the peninsula. They see him as the kind of leader needed in multi-racial Malaysia.

“My moderate Malay friends say that Adenan is as moderate as it gets. They tell me that if the Chinese reject even Adenan, what is it that they really want? This is the last chance for the Chinese to show that they support moderation,” said Soong.

Adenan is trying to show the rest of the country that the Adenan Way is the way forward.

And it will be put to the test today.