This may be my last time

Abang Johari opened his speech at the PBB Northern Zone convention in Miri with a line nobody expected: he may not lead the party much longer.

“This may be my last time.”

The maths of being 76

He put his own age on the table. Seventy-six now, eighty in four years, and no amount of feeling young changes what that means for a party president.

“I'm 76 years old, in four more years I'll be 80.”

He hasn't decided yet

The hint stopped short of an announcement. He said he will make the call when the moment arrives, leaving PBB with a signal rather than a date.

“But I will make the decision when the time comes.”

Make way for the young

His actual ask was aimed at his own generation: older leaders should step back so younger members can carry PBB's responsibility and its struggle.

Being replaced stings

He named the feeling directly. Losing a position hurts, but he framed it as the law of nature rather than a snub, and told members not to take it as one.

“Sometimes we feel disappointed when we are replaced.”

Leaders go, the party stays

Faces change, the mission does not. He argued PBB endures because it has a system for continuity, carried by anyone who loves Sarawak.

“Leaders come and go. There comes a time when we say thank you and allow new people to take our place.”

Train them to talk to people

Succession is not just handing over a title. Successors need training in how to engage different communities and different religions so nothing turns toxic.

“The successors must be trained, trained in how to communicate with people.”

He was trained too

Abang Johari said the leaders before him prepared him for the job, and that debt now falls on his generation to repay to PBB's younger members.

New faces already in

This is not a plan waiting to start. PBB fielded fresh candidates, young leaders among them, at the last election, so the handover is already underway.

“Therefore, those of us who are older should give way to the younger generation.”