FEBRUARY 18 — Stepping into Bangunan Tunku Abdul Rahman in Kuching, the lobby was seen adorned with a Chinese-style kiosk, red ribbons and Chinese lanterns, along with a plum tree blossoming in the middle, sending the unmistakable message that Spring is in the air.

Chief Minister Adenan Satem’s office is on the top floor of the building. The chief minister has been busy celebrating the Lunar New Year with the local Chinese community all over the state, and we were pleasantly surprised by the festive atmosphere that welcomed us at his office.

Since he took over as the chief minister of Sarawak, Adenan has brought some eye-opening changes and breakthroughs to the people of the state. He has injected a new lease of life into the state politics while dealing a blow on the antiquated political culture still reigning over the rest of the country.

He pushes for greater autonomy for Sarawak, fiercely defends the country’s cultural diversity and religious freedom, and is tough on corruption and redundant bureaucracy. Things that we could only imagine and hope for in vain are now a reality.

At a time when political confrontation and religious radicalisation have become the dominant political trends on this side of the South China Sea, and when political leaders are hardly revered for their lack of credibility, such a new breath of life in Sarawak has invariably drawn widespread curiosity and attention.

Will the state of Sarawak be able to usher in the political spring? And can Adenan’s policies be sustained and eventually wield their influences on the rest of the country?

With the state elections just around the corner, will the “Adenan Effect” really work its way, especially in Chinese-majority constituencies?

We, representatives of newspapers and digital media under the MCIL group, paid a visit to the chief minister to learn more about his new policies and himself as a person.

Stepping out of the lift, Adenan was already sitting at his desk reading newspapers when we walked into his office. While the 72-year-old man with a slightly slim build might not look as dynamic and youthful as us, he nevertheless exuded an air of overwhelming steadfastness.

People his age might never be able to push through an ambitious programme to overhaul the existing political ecosystem if not for powerful resolution and determination.

Externally, he is engaged in a tug-of-war with the Federal government, fighting for more autonomy for his state. Internally he has to confront fractional rivals within his own party and from components of the ruling coalition, in addition to political and economic demands from different ethnic communities in the state as well as pressure from interest groups and scepticism and merciless criticisms from the opposition.

Geographically Sarawak is of such an enormous expanse with large parts of the state still remote and inaccessible. It therefore comes as a severe test for Adenan to meet and to understand the needs of his people.

But his performance over the past two years has been exceptionally impressive.

Late last year, he struck an accord with the Federal government for the devolution of administrative powers to the state government, which marked the success of first stage towards greater autonomy.

Next, he will have to fight for the legal rights Sarawak has lost gradually over the decades and reclaim the state’s constitutional status. And in the last stage, he has to fight for the state’s deserved oil and natural gas revenues.

Adenan has found his edge on the negotiation table at a time Umno is in an embattled state, and this has motivated Sarawakians to throw their support behind such an initiative for greater autonomy. The same, however, has also raised the concerns of intensified calls for autonomy, separatism and referendum for complete secession.

Adenan has acted very cautiously on this, and has reiterated that Sarawak will always stay in the Federation.

Internally, he is striving to mould a more liberal and moderate political culture, strongly objecting to the categorisation of Dayaks and other indigenous groups in the state as “lain-lain” (others).

He insists that all ethnic communities in the country must be treated with due respect and no one can be classified as lain-lain or ‘pendatang’.

Adenan also defends religious freedom, claiming that no one can intervene in the faiths of other individuals and that everyone in the state of Sarawak is permitted to use the word “Allah” to refer to their respective gods.

He has attempted to alleviate the financial burden of his people through a variety of ways, including the abolition of highway tolls, reducing electricity tariffs and ferry fare, although he appears powerless in checking the inflationary pressure stemming from the introduction of GST.

He believes issues associated with the Federal government and political leaders such as 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion donation are squarely issues of West Malaysia which have nothing to do with Sarawak.

Adenan’s people-friendly policies and styles have won the thumbs-up of many Sarawakians, including the local Chinese. It nevertheless remains to be seen whether such support could be transferred to the ballot papers to seal BN’s victory in predominantly Chinese constituencies in the state.

No one can tell for sure, not even the CM himself. He feels he should just do what he thinks is right, and the rest will be up to history to judge.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.