Today is election day for Sarawak. Sarawakian must go all out to vote for a better Sarawak
Candidates conclude their cases for voters to decide on verdict
THE battlelines are drawn for the 10th Sarawak State Election today after what must have been to date the hottest ever campaign by both sides locked in a fierce tussle for control of the 71-seat State Legislative Assembly.
In the final days of the hustings, the Barisan Nasional (BN) election machinery picked up considerable momentum and its confidence was given a big boost by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s ‘engage the people’ approach.
Najib traversed the state, visiting urban centres and suburbs and rural townships and longhouses to deliver the government’s transformation plan aimed at bringing greater prosperity to Sarawak and the rest of the country.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister wrapped up his swing across the Iban heartland by calling at far-flung Kapit and Song Districts in the Central Region with a parting message to Sarawakians before returning to Kuala Lumpur.
He said: “Don’t vote based on sentiments. The question that needs to be thought over by Sarawak voters is the cooperation between the federal and state governments for a better future because Sarawak is a very big state which needs huge investments, particularly in modern infrastructure.” Najib, the national BN chairman, has spearheaded a formidable BN campaign and emerged as the ruling coalition’s pillar of strength following unrelenting attacks by the opposition against Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Backed by his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the Prime Minister has expressed confidence Sarawakians will return the BN to power. The BN is aiming to retain its two-thirds majority in the State Legislature while the opposition is equally determined to block this. The stage is set for the toughest election in the history of Sarawak since the state attained independence in 1963.
The BN is contesting in all 71 seats with candidates fielded by its component parties — Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP). In 2006, the BN captured 62 seats but the number was increased to 63 when Sarawak National Party (SNAP) assemblyman in Engkilili, Dr Johnichal Rayong Ngipa, joined the coalition before the dissolution of the House.
While the BN can ride on the wave of Bumiputera support, particularly in the rural constituencies, SUPP, on the other hand, will have to muster all its strength and resources to withstand the onslaught from the opposition in the Chinese-majority urban areas. SUPP is fighting a ‘battle for survival’ against the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in its bid to continue to represent the voice of the Chinese community in the government.
Close contests are expected in many of the SUPP seats, including Piasau under the party’s president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan.
Eight seats went to the opposition in 2006, including six to DAP at the expense of SUPP. The DAP is part of the peninsula-based opposition front Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and widely regarded as the party, among its two other partners – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) – to give BN the stiffest fight in the 15 Chinese-majority and mixed Chinese-Iban seats.
PKR is contesting in 49 Malay-Melanau and Dayak constituencies while PAS in five Malay areas.
Also testing its strength after a spell in the political wilderness is the Sarawak-based opposition party SNAP which is eyeing 26 Dayak seats.
The other splinter party, Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM), is contesting in six Bumiputera areas while making up the rest of the 213 candidates in the fray is an unprecedented number of 41 Independents. The Independents include 15 candidates from the yet-to-be registered Parti Ekonomi Rakyat Sarawak Bersatu (PERSB), contesting under the aeroplane symbol, and nine PKR members who have decided to go it alone after being sacked.
Two prominent Independents are Datuk Salleh Jafaruddin, a second cousin of Taib, who is challenging the Chief Minister in a three-cornered fight in Balingian, and lawyer Dominique Ng, who is defending the Padungan seat after being dropped by PKR although he was the sole PKR winner in 2006.
A big turnout is expected when 1,748 polling centres open across the state today – between 65 and 75 per cent of the 979,796 eligible voters, according to an estimation by the Election Commission.
Transformation vs Change
Frm The Borneo Post
Posted on April 16, 2011, Saturday
Candidates conclude their cases for voters to decide on verdict
THE battlelines are drawn for the 10th Sarawak State Election today after what must have been to date the hottest ever campaign by both sides locked in a fierce tussle for control of the 71-seat State Legislative Assembly.
In the final days of the hustings, the Barisan Nasional (BN) election machinery picked up considerable momentum and its confidence was given a big boost by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s ‘engage the people’ approach.
Najib traversed the state, visiting urban centres and suburbs and rural townships and longhouses to deliver the government’s transformation plan aimed at bringing greater prosperity to Sarawak and the rest of the country.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister wrapped up his swing across the Iban heartland by calling at far-flung Kapit and Song Districts in the Central Region with a parting message to Sarawakians before returning to Kuala Lumpur.
He said: “Don’t vote based on sentiments. The question that needs to be thought over by Sarawak voters is the cooperation between the federal and state governments for a better future because Sarawak is a very big state which needs huge investments, particularly in modern infrastructure.” Najib, the national BN chairman, has spearheaded a formidable BN campaign and emerged as the ruling coalition’s pillar of strength following unrelenting attacks by the opposition against Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Backed by his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the Prime Minister has expressed confidence Sarawakians will return the BN to power. The BN is aiming to retain its two-thirds majority in the State Legislature while the opposition is equally determined to block this. The stage is set for the toughest election in the history of Sarawak since the state attained independence in 1963.
The BN is contesting in all 71 seats with candidates fielded by its component parties — Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP). In 2006, the BN captured 62 seats but the number was increased to 63 when Sarawak National Party (SNAP) assemblyman in Engkilili, Dr Johnichal Rayong Ngipa, joined the coalition before the dissolution of the House.
While the BN can ride on the wave of Bumiputera support, particularly in the rural constituencies, SUPP, on the other hand, will have to muster all its strength and resources to withstand the onslaught from the opposition in the Chinese-majority urban areas. SUPP is fighting a ‘battle for survival’ against the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in its bid to continue to represent the voice of the Chinese community in the government.
Close contests are expected in many of the SUPP seats, including Piasau under the party’s president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan.
Eight seats went to the opposition in 2006, including six to DAP at the expense of SUPP. The DAP is part of the peninsula-based opposition front Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and widely regarded as the party, among its two other partners – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) – to give BN the stiffest fight in the 15 Chinese-majority and mixed Chinese-Iban seats.
PKR is contesting in 49 Malay-Melanau and Dayak constituencies while PAS in five Malay areas.
Also testing its strength after a spell in the political wilderness is the Sarawak-based opposition party SNAP which is eyeing 26 Dayak seats.
The other splinter party, Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM), is contesting in six Bumiputera areas while making up the rest of the 213 candidates in the fray is an unprecedented number of 41 Independents. The Independents include 15 candidates from the yet-to-be registered Parti Ekonomi Rakyat Sarawak Bersatu (PERSB), contesting under the aeroplane symbol, and nine PKR members who have decided to go it alone after being sacked.
Two prominent Independents are Datuk Salleh Jafaruddin, a second cousin of Taib, who is challenging the Chief Minister in a three-cornered fight in Balingian, and lawyer Dominique Ng, who is defending the Padungan seat after being dropped by PKR although he was the sole PKR winner in 2006.
A big turnout is expected when 1,748 polling centres open across the state today – between 65 and 75 per cent of the 979,796 eligible voters, according to an estimation by the Election Commission.
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