White Rajah, White Paper, whitewash

NEW The “White Rajah” of Sarawak had the audacity to pull the wool over the people's eyes when he sanctimoniously proclaimed that he supported a move to publish a White Paper to punish “naughty people” who caused trouble in his scarred kingdom. The all-important paper would presumably detail the misdeeds of the outsiders who came to Sarawak to disrupt public peace and order. They would inevitably be branded a threat to state security and swiftly thrown out. All these so-called instigators have no business to disrupt the activities of Taib Mahmud. Leave him alone. Let him continue his rapacious work. Let he and his cronies pillage the treasury uninterrupted. Let he and his family members milk the land without pause.

A White Paper is a serious matter. It is an “authoritative report” that addresses grave issues and spells out the measures the government would take to tackle them. This way, people get an inkling of what it is all about. Often, a White Paper is a response to an internal or external threat. Taib was right. Even during the colonial era, the British masters published a White Paper. In 1962, they came out with such a report to tell the local inhabitants of Sarawak (still then a British colony) the benefits they would enjoy if they linked up with the peninsula to form the Federation of Malaysia. Better inside the federation than outside where “predatory alien neighbours” like Indonesia lay in wait. The “White Tuan” told the brown people: “Malaysia is good for you.”

After wide-eyed Sarawak joined the federation, another White Paper popped up a year later and this time it was all about the threat of militant communism. The government raised the red flag warning that the diabolical Communist Party of Malaya was coordinating violent activities from the Malaysia-Thai border. If the flame was not doused in double quick time, it would eventually engulf the peninsula and consume Sarawak as well. Then again in 1966 the government released yet another White Paper specifically aimed at Sarawak. Once again, it was all about the menacing Red tide growing stronger with the emergence of the Sarawak United Communist Front. There was no way the fledging state could counter the menace. So the Malaysian government argued in the White Paper that it was its solemn responsibility to protect its “child” from this marauder. People were probably swayed by this sales pitch: Sarawak would perish without its big brother.

But what in the world is Taib trying to do with his White Paper? His White Paper is different. His White Paper is to whitewash his misdeeds and tell bare-faced lies. He wants to punish mischief makers for sniffing out his bulging pocket. He wants to penalise all those extremists who went to the extreme of laying bare his ill-gotten gains. The whole world now knows the sordid tale of the “rape” of Sarawak. He certainly put in years of hard work to develop not Sarawak but his property empire. He has been feasting on Sarawak for 30 long years. He has reduced the state to a pauper. No mainstream media in the state or in the peninsula dared expose his dark reign. Then came the alternative media and Taib suddenly found himself a weakened ruler. He has no where to hide except in a White Paper.

His White Paper is his defence, his last hope of saving himself, his family, his Cabinet cronies from a thump. It does not matter if there are no communists in the bush, in the cupboard or under his bed. Just label all members of the opposition, individuals, organisations and alternative media as extremists and hey presto, they become a threat to the “unity, peace, harmony, tranquillity and the security of Sarawakians”. This line of argument is silly. It does not hold water. People who take the wraps off corrupt leaders are not bad people. People who surreptitiously enrich themselves and let the state go to the dogs are bad people. People who speak up against the greed of the leaders are not naughty but brave. People who seek change are not troublemakers but concerned citizens who do not want Taib and his clique to continue abusing the state.

It is always the governments that produce a White Paper if something serious crops up or had come to pass. But this cannot be the definitive answer. It is always one-sided because the information comes from only one source. The White Paper can be slanted to suit the taste of the government. It can be used to burnish the government and tarnish the opposition. It can be misused to prop up a shaky state. It can be a cover for buying over the sympathy of the people. It is time the people of Sarawak wrote their own White Paper and told the truth: “Taib is not good for you."

Editorial
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