Sarawak is BN’s fixed deposit no more
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid, Free Malaysia Today
KUCHING: Barisan Nasional (BN) may have won and even retained its two-thirds majority in the state legislative assembly but the doubling of seats for the opposition signals a clear message – that BN’s days of condescension is over.
Sarawak, one of the nation’s poorest state that ironically houses one of if not the country’s richest chief minister, is no longer what BN can derogatorily consider as its “fixed deposit”.
Yes, the opposition’s growth in the BN fortress is slow when you consider that it only won 15 out of 71 seats, but it is a growth nevertheless. And judging from the rate Pakatan Rakyat is going at, they are a real potent threat.
The DAP’s landslide victories in 12 of the 15 state constituencies it fought for and PKR tripling its seats mean it would be naive for BN to rubbish off Pakatan as an impotent force.
Not only that DAP managed to add seven more to its previous five seats, it also managed to get whopping majority increase for its incumbents. This is testament to the DAP’s drastically growing influence among Sarawak’s Chinese which is the state’s primary electorate.
The DAP’s victory also saw a virtual wipe out of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) in the state’s urban constituencies. SUPP is the state’s equivalent to MCA, the second biggest component party in BN and is Chinese-based.
SUPP president and now outgoing deputy chief minister George Chan was the biggest casualty in the opposition onslaught. Incumbent for the Piasau seat for sixth term, he was toppled by the DAP’s greenhorn Ling Sie Keong. Piasau falls under the Miri parliamentary seat.
Modernity is key to Pakatan’s growth
Pakatan’s symbolical triumph came amid inferior machinery, logistics and most importantly, smaller financial muscle, which made it impossible for them to infiltrate the state’s vast interiors.
Despite being timber and oil-rich, Sarawak remains backwards with majority of the people having to cope with poor road systems, making it hard for Pakatan to stretch its campaign into the rural areas.
The lack of modern facilities also means the absence of internet, an alternative form of unfiltered information.
One can’t help but wonder should things be different in this sense, Pakatan could have made further inroads and step up its charm offensive among the state’s Bumiputera voters. Majority of them occupy the rural constituencies.
Even so, PKR has managed to grab two rural seats, Ba’kelalan and Krian. The party’s Sarawak chief Baru Bian, defeated Willie Liau while its candidate Ali Biju won against BN’s Peter Nyarok by a whopping 3,000 majority.
