A tale of two crowds in Lubok Antu
Nomination Day crowds are not a sufficient indicator of voting strength or the prospects for victory. So comparisons between the crowds that turned up at the sports complex in Lubok Antu for nominations at the Batang Ai by-election should be hedged at best.
Until returning officer Nelson Munjah announced on the public address system the opening of the nomination process at 9am, flag-waving supporters of both the Barisan Nasional and the Pakatan Rakyat were about of equal strength as they gathered in an open field ringed by the red artificial track. They numbered about 500 in each contingent.
Within 10 minutes, however, a roar went up as about 3,000 flag carrying BN supporters trooped up the hill from the Sarawak Electricity Board side of the sport complex to join their 500-odd compatriots on the field.
Meanwhile, the PKR-dominated Pakatan crowd had approached the complex from the opposite side – Kampong Rambai, an Iban concentration in this electorate of 8,129 voters where 93 percent are Iban.
In the forefront of the late-arriving BN reinforcements was Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, sporting a beige beret and in light-colored attire that showed prescience about what would be comfortable in weather that was turning from refreshingly cool in the earlier part of the morning to sultry.
