‘Big Brother’ PBB holds Sibuti tightly in its grip

MIRI: This parliamentary seat got its name from Sibuti town in the Miri division.

It is a new seat carved out from the Miri parliamentary constituency and was first contested in 2008. Come GE14, it will only be the third time there will be a contest for the Sibuti seat.

When one talks about Sibuti, the Sibu Coral Reef Complex comes to mind. It is the most significant project in the district to date.

The project was carried out with financial support from Petronas.

It has been described as a good effort in terms of conservation of marine biodiversity because, in the long run, it will help increase fishermens’ harvest.

The project is also expected to help attract tourists and boost Miri’s eco-tourism products, such as diving and sports fishing.

According to marine biologist James Bali, the reef balls will be effective in regenerating corals within the marine national park.

He told the Borneo Post recently that the project formed part of ongoing efforts to protect and provide alternative fishing grounds to over 1,500 local fishermen in Miri and Sibuti and also to keep illegal trawlers at bay.

“More importantly, the balls would act as a deterrent to fishermen who use trawlers in the area because their nets would get caught on the balls’ rough surface and tear.

“This would teach them a lesson and they would not come back to fish in the area again,” Bali added.

Sibuti Beach, about an hour’s drive from Miri, is a getaway spot for city dwellers who wish to commune with nature.

Bekenu town, with its seafood market, is also just 15 minutes’ drive away.

Sibuti is a PBB seat. It has been said that PBB always get the majority of new seats following every delineation exercise. Sibuti is one of them.

This did not go down well with state BN component parties but their leaders only lamented in private for fear of antagonising “Big Brother” PBB.

Sibuti’s incumbent MP is PBB newcomer Ahmad Lai Bujang. Not much is known about Ahmad Lai as he is one of those quiet MPs who prefer to work rather than to talk.

In his electoral debut in 2008, he defeated PKR’s Dr Michael Teo with a majority of 3,648 votes.

Not surprisingly, PKR gave up contesting in Sibuti in GE13 and passed it to PAS.

The Islamist party’s candidate, Robby Zaid Tundang, fared worse. He was defeated by Ahmad Lai who won with a majority of 6,066 votes.

Come GE14, Ahmad Lai can expect to contest again for the seat. And nobody expects PBB to fail in wooing voters.

Sibuti has a total of 28,351 voters. The majority are Dayaks (45%), followed by Malays (33%) and Chinese (22%). -FMT