MARCH 2 — To be honest, when Adenan Satem took over as the Sarawak chief minister, many were taken aback: “Why him?”
Even after he took his oath, few had high expectations from this gentleman, wondering what he could really do for the state.
Despite the fact that he was a veteran leader of PBB, he was seen as being further and further away from the core of power. Moreover, he was not young, and had long passed his prime.
His physical conditions were not that promising either, in particular his heart. Some close to him said, “Adenan’s body is like a 600cc Perodua, but his job requires at least a 2,500cc 4WD to roll over the hills.”
Given his low profile and personal relationship with Taib Mahmud, some thought he would never be able to deliver himself out of his predecessor’s shadow. He was at best seen as a transitional CM prepared to give up his seat when the time was right.
But, his performance over the past one year has awed many a political observer. Even the harshest critics and the opposition have to agree that they can hardly find a flaw in him.
His moderate and diversified policy has insulated the state from religious extremism rampant on this side of the South China Sea. He made it clear that Umno would not be allowed to enter Sarawak while defending the right of the indigenous people to use the word “Allah” to refer to their god. He even stopped Ibrahim Ali and Ridhuan Tee Abdullah at the airport immigration.
He wanted the state ministers, government officials and corporations to sign the integrity pledge, including himself. He did this to tell the world that he would never abuse the power in his hand, and would never allow any of his family members to secure any government projects or land.
He fiercely defended the sovereignty of Sarawak, and many “federalization” policies in the past have been gradually rectified, including localization of civil service force.
He provided allocations to independent Chinese secondary schools in the state, and was ready to recognize the UEC certificate while promoting more senior Chinese public servants.
He has done within a short year what many Sarawakians have hoped a chief minister could complete in a term, some exceeding their expectations.
His character is such that few would question his sincerity along the line of “election needs.”
In addition, he has also set a good example to the rest of the country that one fo the states can actually be run this way, and that a political leader can bring about so many practical changes within one short year.
What he has done has not only provided a model for other states, other parties and other politicians to emulate, he has also given all Malaysians a confidence booster, that we can steer our country in the right direction so long as we have the right leaders and policies.
In every country that I have visited, as far as possible one of the itineraries will be the local museums.
Some of these museums are grand and expansive while others are humble and can be covered in a couple of minutes. Very different their values might be, they nevertheless register a specific part of the human history and civilization.
Visiting a museum gives me immense spiritual uplifting.
When I saw the IS mobsters indiscriminately ransacking the ancient artefacts at Mosul museum in Iraq, my heart was torn.
Mosul sits on the site of the ancient Assyrian capital Nineveh, and understandably many of the precious artefacts are kept in the city’s museum.
The Assyrian civilization occupied a very important part in human history, and was one of the earliest civilizations on Earth dating back to more than 4,500 years. Its territories once stretched all the way to Egypt from its birthplace between Iraq’s two large rivers.
The Assyrian empire lasted for more than two millennia, during which agricultural and metallurgical practices were initiated. They even invented the cuneiform alphabet and established the earliest urban settlements. Such an ancient civilization should be treasured by all.
But the IS militants saw the artefacts as enemies in violation of the Islamic faith, and must be destroyed at all cost.
Did it ever cross their minds that before Islam came to this land, the Assyrian civilization had already lit up the world?
Destroying museum collection is tramping human civilization. Millennia-old legacies can never be reproduced, just like the Bamiyan Buddha statues blasted by the Talibans in Afghanistan. — Sin Chew Daily
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
