Independent and fired up: The women who would be kingmakers in Sarawak
Priscilla Lau and Jamie Tiew are the only two candidates for the Sarawak Peace Party. (Photo: Jack Board)
SIBU, Sarawak: It is not often that Donald Trump is raised in political talk in Sarawak. But Priscilla Lau and Jamie Tiew - two women at the forefront of a new independent political movement - are big fans of the American president.
They have even adapted his slogan. “We want to make Sarawak great again,” Lau says.
Lau, a 49-year-old lawyer and Tiew, a businesswoman, 48, are the two sole candidates for the Sarawak Peace Party, a pre-existing party they have commandeered after being unable to start their own in time for the Malaysian general election on May 9.
Their platform - a bit like Trump’s - is fiercely protectionist and putting Sarawak first. They oppose immigration and want Sarawak’s autonomous status within Malaysia restored, a status that might resemble Hong Kong’s "one country, two systems".
“All of us here in Sarawak, we have been cheated,” said Tiew, who was a long-time supporter of the ruling Barisan Nasional party.
“We thought that they are doing a good job but at the end of the day, we only feel that we’ve been cheated. Sarawak people should be living a better life.”
Their argument for Sarawak’s “resurrection and self-determination” dates back to the historical document that originally mapped out the formation of the country - the 1963 Malaysia Agreement.
They believe that over the decades, various legal amendments to the agreement, including Singapore’s departure, has rendered the original document redundant. Sarawak’s fundamental right as a country that formed Malaysia has now been simply reduced to a state, they argue, which means it is losing out politically and economically.
The state ranks eleventh out of the country’s 16 state and federal territories for median income, despite having one of the highest gross state products.
“They say we must save the country first and then we save Sarawak. But, I say Sarawak is the country that made up equal partner of Malaysia. Without Sarawak, there is no Malaysia.”
But Lau and Tiew are under no illusions that they alone can make a strong mark on the national parliament as a small party.
But they are two women who would be kingmakers.
Sarawak Peace Party has joined forces with other small political operations in the region to form the United Borneo Alliance. The intention is to be a genuine “third force”, which can represent Sabah and Sarawak voices on the national stage.
“Oh yes, we can become a kingmaker overnight,” Lau said.
“You want to be government today? Ok, let’s talk about Sarawak. And the minute that we find there’s corruption happening over here, oh please excuse me, I will change overnight. I’ll go to the other party’s house and say, let’s talk,” she explained.
“We will not join anybody, we are our own. But we will work with them and form the government of the day. Doesn’t matter who.”
"AUNTIES GO HOME"
It is an ambitious target for a little-known party making their election debut with greenhorn candidates. The party apparatuses of the major coalitions are strong in Sarawak and the fight between them is expected to be close in urban areas, including the parliamentary seats of Sibu and Lanang where the pair are running.
Add to this the fact that they are both women in a social area that is traditional and patriarchal and the challenge is an unenviable one.
“We had so many negative comments, even on Facebook,” Lau said. “They scold us ‘aunties go home and cook’. They say we are single mother party. They call us all sort of names. It amuses me that, until today, people still can have that sort of mentality. But to us, we have to do it.”
Just over 10 per cent of current parliamentarians in Malaysia are women. Only three are cabinet members. It places Malaysia 156th out of 190 countries in terms of women’s representation in parliament, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
And women make up only 251 candidates running in this general election, compared to 2,082 men, according to figures from Bernama.
Prominent female politicians have been taking to the stage during this election campaign, the most high profile being deputy prime ministerial candidate Wan Azizah. But she is no role model, according to Lau and Tiew.
“She stepped into her husband’s shoes because someone had to take over. I do not want to step into my husband’s shoes.
“But if you talk about other women in politics, for example Sharizat (Abdul Jali) or Rafidah (Aziz), they’ve done well, but I say this with all respect, they can still be more assertive,” Lau said.
Despite the odds stacked against them, they are not bowing down to anybody.
“A good result for us is definitely a win. It’s a win for Sarawak,” Lau said. “Then Sarawak will no longer be trampled on.”
