Malay grouses against Sarawak government leaders are not justified as the community must realise that they have to work hard to improve their lot and not just wait for hand-outs, a local minister told malaysiakini today.

State Tourism Minister Abang Johari Abang Openg said the Malay complaint about being side-lined is just a "matter of perception".

"It is a question of whether they work hard or not. Sometimes the ability is simply not there," he said when met at his office in Satok.

Abang Johari, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu deputy president, is contesting as the Barisan Nasional candidate against Keadilan's Zulrosdi Muhamad Hol for the Satok seat.

According to the minister there is also the question of whether "we (Malays) are united and whether our leaders are charismatic".

"Sometimes people are sceptical whether we can lead or not," he added.

It was the elimination of Abang Abu Bakar Mustapha and Sulaiman Daud from their federal minister positions that gave rise to this perception, claimed the minister.

"We have to take this as a challenge. In politics, people only see things from one perspective, so we have to show them the other perspective as well," added Abang Johari.

Abang Abu Bakar once held the defence minister post and Sulaiman, the agriculture minister.

'Small problem'

The minister said he does not feel threatened by Abang Abu Bakar's faction as what mattered to him was that a leader needed to earn the respect of all communities including the Chinese and the Ibans, and not only the Malays.

"A leader needs to have not only the ability but the vision to fight for the people," he said.

The minister dismissed Abang Abu Bakar as a "small problem" and denied that he had a 'pact' with the latter to bring Umno into Sarawak.

Abang Abu Bakar is also a former deputy president of PBB. However, he quit the party when he was dropped from the BN list of candidates for the 1999 general elections.

On the allegations that the government had taken Native Customary Rights and Malay Reserve land from the people and did not pay them adequate compensation, Abang Johari said this was "merely a distortion of facts" by the opposition.

He also denied that BN had anything to do with buying votes. "Perhaps it is Keadilan who is doing it, they have lots of money and they are up to many tricks," he rebutted.

Last week, the opposition accused Sarawak caretaker chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud of allegedly stealing three million hectares of land which they claimed rightfully belonged to the people.

The opposition also said the land was shared by 121 'crony' companies.

Meanwhile, Abang Johari accused Keadilan of bringing an aggressive campaigning style into Sarawak.

He said those he met were from Kedah or Kuala Lumpur and had Anwar Ibrahim's '1974 Baling' student activist style of campaigning.

Anwar, the former deputy prime minister, was noted for his ferocious student activism during his university days and following a protest for farmers in Baling, Kedah, he was arrested under the Internal Security Act.

In 1998, Anwar who had then become the deputy prime minister, was sacked from his position and charged for corruption and sodomy. He is presently serving a 15-year jail term.

Keadilan was formed after his sacking and is helmed by his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail

Opposition 'jokers'

Abang Johari admitted that Keadilan had good lobbyists and speakers which explained why the party's ceramah (talks) were often crowded. "People are also curious," he said.

The minister did not discount the possibility that voters can be swayed by such talk as the speakers can sometimes be very persuasive.

"Furthermore, they are jokers. Although they talk rubbish, they can attract people.

"It is like the difference between a road-side Tongkat Ali medicine seller and a pharmacy - which do you think will draw the crowd?" he queried in jest.

But Abang Johari said his party had found ways to counter such 'jokers'. "We need a joker to talk to another joker.

"We got people from Kuala Lumpur to counter them here. We brought defected Keadilan Selangor youth secretary Wan Indera Rahman to counter youth leader Azmin Ali who kept harping on some 'secret' files issue which didn't exist," he added.

As for non-voters, mostly youths, who assisted in the opposition campaigns, Abang Johari said he has "rounded them up" because they were too aggressive and may frighten older voters with their rough behaviour and noisy motorcycles.