Kit Siang: Looks like Taib is here to stay

About a year and a half ago, tensions between Kuching and Putrajaya rose when there was a debate on when Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud should step down.

Worried that Taib’s 30-year rule of Sarawak would sour BN’s chances in the April 2011 Sarawak state election, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak crisscrossed the state, promising that Taib would step down soon.

As the heat poured on, Taib declared that he would step down in “two years” midway through the campaign, only to say ambiguously he would step down “mid-term” after it was clear that he had won the election convincingly.

However, all this talk of Taib stepping down in “two years” - which would mean April next year - appear to have all come to naught based on the speeches of Najib and Taib last Sunday.

In a press release today, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang pointed out that the duo seemed to be complementing each other on stage during the national-level Malaysia Day celebration in Bintulu.

Najib praised the cooperation and support of Taib administration’s for the federal government, while Taib praised the premier and alluded that his administration cannot be replaced by a “political newcomer”.

These on-stage theatrics did not impress Lim, who described it as a public “love fest”.

“But what the Najib-Taib ‘love fest’ in Bintulu camouflaged was the clear victory hands-down by Taib in the political tug-of-war with Najib.

“The reason is also very simple and straightforward - the tables have been turned, with Taib now having more political leverage vis-à-vis Najib instead of the other way round 18 months ago before the state election,” said Lim.