"Faktor Luaran Pengaruhi Pengundi" (2)

Chief Ministger Tan Sri Taib Mahmud is seeking a fresh mandate in one of the most hotly contested elections in recent Sarawak history.
Taib, who is Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) president, has been chief minister for 30 years since March 26, 1981.
It has been said that this will be his most challenging election since the “Ming Court affair” when, to pre-empt a political coup led by his uncle, he called for snap polls in 1987 and won narrowly with an eight-seat majority.
Taib has said that he plans to lead the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the coming state election, and confirmed that he planned to hand over power “somewhere in the mid-term”.
BN controls 63 of the 71-seat assembly after Engkilili assemblyman Dr Jonical Rayong Ngipa, who contested on an opposition Sarawak National Party ticket in the state election in 2006, joined the BN last year.
DAP controls six seats while Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM), thorugh an Independent representative, contoh a seat each.
Some politicians in the state were unhappy when former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin said that BN would win with “a few more seats going to the opposition”.
Le see what is going to happen on the polling day.
Elections in Sarawak are expensive affairs because the state is almost as big as the whole peninsular Malaysia and one constituency in the interior is as big as the state of Pahang.
Election Commission (EC) has applied for a budget of RM45 million to conduct the election, including to cover the logistical costs that include the use of 24 helicopters, 63 speed boats, 919 long boats, and 4,124 four-wheel-drive vehicles.
None of the opposition parties has that sort of resources.
Kawasan pilihan raya benar-benar mengikat pemilih kepada calon yang bakal dipilih. Misalmya, pemilih luar bandar lebih cenderung kepada calon parti kerajaan sementara pemilih bandar lebih cenderung kepada parti pembangkang.
Akan tetapi faktor kawasan ini dalam waktu terakhir nampaknya sudah diimbangi oleh faktor rasionalisasi diri pemilih itu sendiri, tanpa kira parti kerajaan mahupun parti pembangkang yang bertanding.
Trend pemilihan sekarang lebih terarah kepada bakal calon yang berpendidikan serta ada wawasan jelas ke arah membawa kebaikan kepada kawasan dan pemilih yang bakal diwakilinya.
Pemilih lebih mahukan pemimpin yang boleh bersuara bernas dan baik bukan sahaja pada peringkat lokal, malahan pada forum dan persidangan antarabangsa.
Sehubung dengan itu pula, pemilih mahukan pemimpin yang prihatin dengan isu dan permasalahan rakyat. Dengan kata-kata lain, orang ramai kini benar-benar cenderung kepada trend pemilihan pemimpin berjiwa rakyat.
Akhirnya, model ini menunjukkan publisiti media massa turut mempengaruhi pemilih dalam proses undian mereka.
Begitulah, semakin banyak publisiti dan kempen seseorang calon diberikan oleh media, maka semakin terserlah beliau dan semakin cerahlah peluang dan harapannya untuk terpilih.
Dengan itu, memang sahihlah akan keterikatan hubungan di antara politik dengan media, yang satu melengkapi yang satu lagi.
As in Sarawak, the Information Department has also published two hefty volummes about Taib. One is titled Concept of Anak Sarawak, the other is called Bold Steps Forward.
“They are actually quite informative in a propagandish way but unfortunately they are as heavy and cumbersome as the old telephone directories”, said a political analyst.
Nomination for the 10th Sarawak state election is on Wednesday while polling has been set for April 16.