SWP in cahoots with Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim? Here’s my personal take on the matter.

Rumours have been flying rampant. Let’s look at the facts.

1. SWP has been desperately trying to convince everyone, through the newspapers, that its membership is allegedly growing from strength to strength. (See http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/01/27/swp-growing-fast-says-larry/)
2. PKR revealed that several PKR members received SWP membership cards without even having applied to become members. (See http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/3/27/sarawak/12891734&sec=sarawak)
3. SWP explained this away as a technical glitch; that family members had applied on behalf of these other members, and that PKR members who received the cards may return them.   
4. Radio Kenyalang, SWP’s mouth-piece, has allegedly heavily hinted that Datuk Sng has made a deal with DSAI. The contents of the alleged deal were not divulged but it has been strongly suggested that at the last moment DSAI will ask PKR candidates in Lubok Antu, Selangau and Julau to stand down and give way to SWP. In return, SWP will guarantee DSAI three seats, and possibly finance the other PKR seats. This is all just allegations, mind you, and I am merely repeating what is common talk in the coffee-shops.
5. At the same time, rumours are flying across the state that Nicholas Bawin Anggat, PKR potential candidate for Lubok Antu, has been allegedly ‘bought’ by SWP. Who started the rumour we cannot be certain but whose interest would it be in to start such a rumour? Who would benefit from Nicholas pulling out of the race in Lubok Antu? The SWP candidate for Lubok Antu, perhaps? And who could that be?
6. In Selangau, the strategy allegedly employed by SWP is slightly different. The no-show by DSAI for an event organised by PKR Selangau recently was used to further fuel the rumour that Sng has a deal with DSAI, and that is why DSAI cancelled his visit to Selangau at the last minute. The truth is, DSAI was unwell, and we all could see that DSAI was unwell, and he had to cut short his visit to Sarawak and only make the trip to Assap in Hulu Rajang, where he promptly announced Abun Sui Anyit as the PKR candidate for Hulu Rajang. (Hulu Rajang is also a seat being eyed by SWP.)
7. Now if DSAI really has a deal with Sng, then why confirm PKR candidate Abun Sui Anyit for Hulu Rajang, where SWP’s George Lagong has been touted to contest? Isn’t George a close relative of Sng and isn’t blood thicker than water? Why sacrifice George if there is a deal already in place?
8. A week later, DSAI announced in KL the names of the candidates for the five PKR seats in Sarawak – Baru Bian for Limbang, Ali Biju for Saratok, Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh for Batang Lupar, and a reiteration of Roland Engan for Baram and Abun Sui Anyit for Hulu Rajang. This announcement conjured more confusion and cast further doubt on the fate of Lubok Antu and Selangau. People began to ask and speculate why Selangau and Lubok Antu were left out. The answer to this quandary is simple – announcements of candidates and seats will be done gradually in batches, for strategic and tactical purposes. But sometimes the plain and simple truth is not good enough for rumour-mongers who prefer convoluted conspiracy theories.
9. Going back to the rumour that Nicholas Bawin has allegedly been ‘bought’ – let us look at this contradictory report. Why do I say contradictory? Simple – if DSAI and Sng really have a deal, then why would SWP want to allegedly ‘buy’ Nicholas Bawin? Wouldn’t it be allegedly cheaper for Sng to just let Bawin continue campaigning and then at the last minute ask DSAI to keep his end of the bargain and tell Bawin not to run but instead to give way to SWP? Sng is an astute businessman – if he already has an alleged deal with DSAI, he will not allegedly bother to go around ‘buying’ PKR candidates, because the alleged deal will mean DSAI will instruct PKR candidates to stand down and give way - at no further cost to Sng whatsoever.
10. So how can you have two contradictory rumours running concurrently at the same time? One rumour says that there is an alleged deal between Sng and DSAI. The other rumour says that Bawin has been allegedly ‘bought’ by Sng. Both rumours, if you think logically about them, would automatically cancel each other out as they do not make strategic, economic or political sense whatsoever. Whomever started them was not thinking and had made an epic tactical mistake. As in BLOCKBUSTER EPIC.

The conclusion, based on these facts, is unequivocally simple – THERE IS NO ALLEGED DEAL. SWP must win Selangau and Lubok Antu because it cannot do for Sng Senior and Sng Junior to lose, if they are to contest in these two seats  – and that is why SWP will do whatever it takes to ensure victory for its two top leaders, especially since there is NO ALLEGED DEAL with DSAI.

The truth, I believe, is simple - SWP is grasping at straws and we must not buy into their stories, no matter how deliciously enticing these may be for the conspiracy theorists. And with this point-by-point clarification, let us not give SWP any more oxygen or attention. Our objective is to unseat BN. Period.