Malcom Mussen Lamoh Is BN Candidate For Batang Ai?
The Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Batang Ai state by-election has been identified and will be announced next week, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said.
"We have unanimously endorsed the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) candidate for the seat," he told reporters after chairing the state BN meeting at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu headquarters here, Saturday.
Taib, who is state BN chairman, declined to reveal the name, saying it would be submitted to the prime minister for approval and expected to be announced on Monday.
Meanwhile PRS president Datuk Seri Dr James Jemut Masing confirmed that PRS had proposed Malcom Mossen Lamoh, 49, an engineer with Agriculture Department, as the BN candidate for Batang Ai.
A father of three, Mussen holds a Master's Degree in Manufacturing System Engineering from Warwick University and a Bachelor of Engineering (Agricultural) from Univerisiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
The Batang Ai state seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent assemblyman Datuk Dublin Unting Ingkot on Feb 24 after being in coma following a stroke in May last year.
In the May 2006 state election, Unting defeated Nicholas Bawin Anggat of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) with a 806-vote majority.
The Election Commission (EC) has fixed March 29 as the nomination day and April 7 for the polling.
The Sarawak state election was last held on May 20, 2006 in which the BN won 62 of the 71 seats.
DAP won six, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) two, and an Independent candidate, one seat.
Meanwhile, in Sibu, Lubok Antu member of Parliament William Nyalau is upbeat of the BN's chances in Batang Ai.
He said although there were people saying things to the contrary, success would go the BN's way.
"People are saying that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is strong here because it has either Nicholas Bawin or former Lubok Antu MP Jawah Gerang as the potential candidate.
"But we are unfazed by either one," he told Bernama.
Nyalau said it would be the same group of voters who supported the opposition against him in the last parliamentary election, or against the late Unting in the last state election, who would again support the opposition in this by-election.
Then again, he said, many of them had now joined him in supporting the BN. "I guess they realise only the BN can truly assist them."
On issues, Nyalau said the opposition had nothing much to capitalise on.
"Here, the native customary rights land development projects are carried out without any glitch by Salcra (Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority) together with the land owners," he said.
On a lighter side, commenting on the rather spooky name of his Lubok Antu constituency, Nyalau said he did propose for it to be renamed sometime ago.
Lubok Antu, which means "a place infested with ghosts", is hardly a complimentary name for one of the state's most scenic and pristine interior areas with its clear Batang Ai river still teeming with fish.
Batang Ai and Engkilili are two state constituencies that form the Lubok Antu parliamentary constituency.
He said legend had it that one of Iban's mythical heroes, Bungai Nuing, had a fight and defeated a ghost there.
"And that is how the place has came to be known as Lubok Antu," he said. (Bernama)
