KUCHING: Barisan Nasional goes into the 10th Sarawak election having steered the state for 40 years. Thirty of those years, Sarawak has spent under the rule of Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.
All these years Taib, 75, had had an undisrupted run of polls. But this time round the scenario is different.
Taib will have to prove that his policy of development introduced in the 1990s benefitted the people more than it did his family and cronies.
Already on the smorgasboard of issues are, among others, Taib’s immense wealth and business monopoly. Also on the table are issues involving illegal logging, land grabs, poverty, carbotage policy, prices of fuel and basic necessities.
To cap this list, Taib and BN will also have to explain the federal government’s latest blunder involving the bible to the state’s almost 50% Christian population.
The BN coalition is well aware of the barrage of accusations that will come its way.
Said state BN secretary-general Stephen Rundi Utom: “The BN government is not perfect.
“It is open with its weaknesses and makes immediate amendment whenever possible.
“We can’t change the government overnight, we change within the government. We will keep on improving on the weakness and that is the way we change the government, within the government,” he told newsmen yesterday.
United opposition
Taib, who will lead BN’s defence in this battle to retain its control in the state, announced earlier this evening that the Sarawak Legislative Assembly will be dissolved on Monday, March 21.
He has left it to the Election Commission to decide on the dates of nomination and polling.
In the last election, the state BN captured 62 seats out 71 contested.
Taib’s party, Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) which is the backbone of the government secured 35 seats with Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) 11, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) have eight seats each.
In the last election, SUPP contested in 19 seats and lost eight of it to the opposition parties. PRS lost one out of the nine it contested. Six of the SUPP’s seats were lost to DAP, one to PKR and one to SNAP.
Said an observer: “This time around, the opposition united under the banner of Pakatan Rakyat may pose a bigger threat to the BN especially to SUPP.
“Almost all of SUPP’s urban seats are grey areas.
“There will also be tough fight in the rural areas especially in the Dayak majority areas,” he said.
The election issues will be centred on high costs of living due to increase in prices of essential commodities including fuels and oils.
Other important issues are native customary rights (NCR) land which the opposition has accused the government of grabbing and leasing to their cronies and family members.
Even Taib’s leadership has become a major election issues especially the various allegations of abuse of power, corruption and the practise of cronyism.
On his successor, Taib said he would concentrate first on the election and then would decide as to who should replace him, alluding today that he might step down mid-term. - FMT
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