What is Taib Mahmud afraid of?

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, a firm and charismatic man, feared by friends and enemies alike is concerned about the future of Sarawak which he led for over 30 years. Taib who will step down at the end of this month, is worried of the racial problems which he says can destroy the racial harmony built over the years. "Basically what I'm worried about is that the harmony will crash; racial politics and religion is at the extreme," Taib said in an exclusive interview with Astro Awani at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here on Friday. Taib explains, politic which exploits such narrow racial sentiments would change the social landscape of the country. It requires a political skill to manage the needs of a diverse multi-ethnic society. He was however, optimistic that the socio-ecosystem resilience of Sarawak's politics will not cause such scenario to take place in sarawak also known as the 'Land of the Hornbill'. "Sarawak does not have a majority group. Chinese people are not the majority, the Malays are not the majority, Iban are not the majority. So for us to reach the majority, there should be substantial agreement that shares the ideology of love for the country," said Taib. What is Sarawak's sentiment of separating from Malaysia? In a brief interview with Astro AWANI, Abdul Taib was also asked on the increased tendency among the people of Sabah and Sarawak to separate from Malaysia. "Sarawak has better luck being with Malaysia. Based on research, many are of the opinion that Sarawak can develop faster being with Malaysia as our economy is bigger and the federal government is our model on how we run the economy in Sarawak," said Taib. He also stressed that the need for Sarawak to stay in Malaysia is to guarantee its stability and security. "The federal government is huge and can stabilize the security. Sarawak was first exposed to the threat of an underground movement. Malaysia is the only country in the world to win against the guerrilla movement," said Taib. The Chief Minister was responding to a statement made by Monash University Malaysia academician, Professor James Chin, who claimed of an increasing tendency by the people of Sabah and Sarawak to separate from Malaysia. Chin had reportedly made the statement during a forum held in Kuala Lumpur, recently.