Sarawak's state elections: Opposition parties make some inroads

Congratulation Pakatan Rakyat comprising of Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), and PAS of capturing another seven seats in the 10th Sarawak State Assembly election yesterday.
In all, DAP and PKR won 12 and 3 seats respectively, and as in the words of its chief, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail: The result is historic – unprecedented in Sarawak’s history – never before has the result moved to a two-party system.
She went on to claim that “In fact the opposition are facing the whole government machinery.”
BN comprising of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), and Sarawak People’s Democratic Party (SPDP) retained its two-third majority in the 71-seat State Assembly, winning 55 seats, less seven seats from 2006.
Another seat went to independent.
Say analysts : Despite BN winning three-quarters of the Sarawak State Assembly. Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has become a liability that the ruling coaliton can ill effort to carry into the next state general election.
The victory not all that sweet.
BN won 55 seats (PBB-35, SUPP-6, PRS-8), and SPDP-6) due to the fact that majority of the people especially in the rural areas are still thinking as they are like 30 years ego.
“It may take a long time from now for the rural folks the realize the way the urban people think about their political future,” said an analyst.
The DAP has won 12 out of its 15 contested seats, its biggest win in Sarawak to date that was capped by the biggest upset when young blood Ling Sie Kiong beat six-term incumbent Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam, Deputy Chief Minister and SUPP president, for the Piasau state seat.
The party stamped its mark by nearly wiping out SUPP in urban Chinese-majority seats.
The seat has seen intense campaigning as DAP has made Miri its frontline.
During the campaigning, Dr Chan admitted it had been “one heck of a battle’ with DAP, which had been the SUPP’s arch-enemy ever since it joined BN in the late 1970s.
He also said that the outcome of the Sunday’s election will show who among the four – Peter Chin, David Teng, Lee Kim Shin, and Wong Soon Koh – has the higgest support of the rakyat and that will help determine their status in the party.
He said there were three more major projects he wanted to do before retiring.
“These are the outstanding tasks I must get done before I go – the contruction of the RM60mil Borneo Village and the RM200mil spillway project in Miri and also the upgrading of the highway from Kuala Baram.
“These are the nerve-centre for the future development of Miri. Once I see these projects in place, I will go,” he said in Miri SUPP headquaters on Friday.
Now, he had to go after losing Piasau seats to DAP’s Sie Kiong.
PKR still had made some progress as compared to the last election, winning two extra seats notably Krian with a convincing majority.
The party has made something of a breakthrough in rural Orang Ulu dan Dayak areas.
Krian for instance, is a semi-urban area, where according a PKR’s source, the internet connection is good and the people keep up to date with the latest news.
Ali Biju, 43, and single, who is a self-made bussinessman in the oil and gas industry based in Bintulu, defeated SPDP deputy president Datuk Peter Nyarok, SNAP’s Liman Sujang, and independent Banyi Beriak in a four-cornered fight.
State PKR chairman Baru Bian led the way for the party by winning in Ba’Kelalan, obtaining 2,505 votes to defeat SPDP newcomer Willie Liau by 473 votes.
PKR also retained Batu Lintang, with its state information chief, See Chee How, winning by a 8,381-vote majority over SUPP’s Sih Hua Tong and independent Lina Soo.
The party has only one seat in the previous state assembly in Dominique Ng, who stood as independent in Padungan where the DAP contested this time in a seat swap with PKR.
The DAP’s candidate won in Padungan while Ng lost his deposit.
The PKR victories showed that it was multi-ethnic, with representatives from various racial groups.
Good job for PR, especially DAP, and majority of the Sarawakians, who wanted to change. Keep it up for the coming of 13the parliamentary elections.

"Sarawak State Assembly Dissolved Today" (March 21, 2011)

Sarawak state assembly dissolved today (Monday – March 21,2011), paving the way for the 10th state elections. The chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud waited until the end of the fifth year to dissolve the state assembly, as he did for the 1996, 2001, and 2006 polls. The current mandate of the assembly extends to July 24.
Taib, who is also the state Barisan Nasional chairman told a packed press conference at the Kuching International Airport on Saturday that he had an audience with the Yang Dipertua Negeri at Astana, in Kuching to seek his agreement to dissolve the assembly.
The Election Commission is expected to meet on Wednesday to decide on the nomination and polling dates.
At the same function, also attended by the prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dan his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, he also commited himself to a smooth transition of power to a new team and confirmed that he planned to hand over power “somewhere in the mid-term”.
He made this commitment when he said that he is going to contest in the coming election.
Taib, 74, will celebrate his 30th anniversary as chief minister on Saturday. He is the longest serving chief minister in Malaysia. He has been in power since 1981.
Taib’s commitment to retire after the polls is best read as an election strategy to stem the opposition tide, especially on the urban seats, said an analysis.
The ninth state election held on May 20th, 2006 saw the Barisan Nasional (BN) captured 87% of the seats (61:72) and continues to dominate the state legislature.
To be more specific, the BN now holds 63 seats in the state assembly, with Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak, led by Abdul Taib, having 35 seats, followed by the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) 12 and Parti Rakyat Sarawak and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) eight each.
Six of the remaining seats are held by the DAP while Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Parti Cinta Malaysia, through an independent, have one each.
However, the opposition managed to send shock waves by winning an unexpected 8 seats and 47.2% of the popular vote.
For the first time since the 1987 election, the opposition emerged as an important player in this state, long considered a stronghold for the incumbent BN.
The urban sentiment against Taib is very strong and he may have to spell out a more specific exit plan to appease the urban electorate, many of whom had made up their minds months ago, said an analysis.
The loss of the Sibu parliamentary seat by-election to DAP was a clear signal of the urban mood.
Since its independence through Malaysia in 1963, Sarawak has held a total of nine state elections, (1970, 1974, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006).
As in the last election, there are 71 seats to be contested this time.
In 1996 the BN won 56 of the 62 seats (90.3%), winning 19 of these uncontested and 65.9% of the popular vote.
In 2001 the BN only lost one seat and won four uncontested, winning 61 (98.3%) of the seats and 71.9% of the popular vote.
BN dominance in Sarawak politics has comprised a coalition of parties, including the Malay/Melanau PBB led by the current chief minister Taib Mahmud, the SUPP, the state’s oldest party which formed in 1959 and is the main Chinese party, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) which represents a combination of Iban and Chinese representatives, and the mainly Iban SPDP.
Parties have moved out of the governing coalition over the years, particularly Iban-based parties. The two most important Iban parties were the Sarawak National Party (SNAP), the first Iban-nationalist party formed in 1961 that is now in opposition and the Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) founded in 1983 after a split from SNAP. PBDS did not contest in the 2006 polls since it was deregistered in October 2004.
All of these parties have been dominated by specific leaders and remain highly personalized. The most prominent figure in BN Sarawak politics has been chief minister Taib Mahmud.
However, according to an analysis : Taib’s political legacy is about to be tested in this coming election.