The National Front (BN) is so certain of its hold on the Malaysian public that it decided its leaders are sacrosanct, that any who challenged them traitors to the party, if not the nation. This worked only so long as UMNO retained Malay political and cultural backing. UMNO now is strong politically but the cultural Malay ignores it so thoroughly that its president, Dr Mahathir, cannot even retire at his pace. UMNO is the mainframe of the BN house; when that breaks, so would the house. This selection of leaders by orchestrated acclamation works only so long as the Malay political and cultural support is with UMNO. UMNO now fights hard so it hopes it could survive on political support alone. And unnervingly finds it is not. The Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) chairman also went along with the trend. The chief minister of Sarawak, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, is head of his PBB for as long as Dr Mahathir of UMNO, and with no intention to retire yet.

Recent Selangor mentris besar went out in a cloud. Dr Khir's precedessor, Dato' Seri Abu Hassan Omar, went out in a cloud for his unusual marital arrangements, and whose predecessor, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mohamed, when caught in Australia with a shopping bag full -- RM2.5 million worth -- of foreign currency. Dr Khir, a mild-mannered dentist and just elected to the state assembly, was chosen because Dr Mahathir considered none from the state executive council suitable or, not to put a fine point to it, clean. How he came upon Dr Khir reflects how the man is so out of touch with reality that he has to depend on the say so of those close to him. Dr Khir is close to a bin Mahathir.

Nothing would change in today's Council Negeri elections in Sarawak: the National Front would romp home without difficulty, perhaps up to 15 seats would be hotly contested, the personal fiefdom Sarawak has become to the chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, would continue. It should have been, but is not, life as usual.

It is worse in Sabah and Sarawak, where timber reserves are immense and corruption a way of life. One application for forest land to keep a company from closing down and throwing 2,000 workers in Sabah is a scandal: millions have been given in "donations" but the licence has not come through, and the file is now before the Prime Minister. The system of rotating chief ministers has the immediate effect of money collected with the decision left to his successor, which he would not because he had not been paid. In Sabah and Sarawak, it was the practice to give every state minister a substantial timber grant for every year in office, making them instant millionaires. I do not know if that is still so. But the chief minister of Sarawak, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, is widely believed to be one of the richest politicians in Malaysia. As his uncle and predecessor, and later, Yang Dipertuan Negara, Tun Abdul Rahman Yaakub was before him. When uncle and nephew are chief ministers for 30 years, it is a fair bet that it breeds corruption to an unmatched degree.

Sarawak would hold elections for the Council Negri, its state assembly, soon, as early as next month. The Prime Minister is there to rally the faithful to the National Front cause, but he is not as enamoured of the chief minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, as he once was. He clearly prefers some one else, preferably from outside the Parti Bersatu Bumiputra. the "UMNO" of the Sarawak National Front coalition. Or, as an alternative, a member of his federal cabinet, Dato' Effendi Nawawi. Tan Sri Taib in Sarawak has outlived his usefulness to the state and the National Front coalition as the Prime Minister has nationwide. All this is played out behind the scenes.

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