Opposition in disarray over seat claims

The opposition front appears to be cracking up amidst squabbling over seat allocations and constituencies.

By Hanis Hanif

KUCHING: The DAP may not see its aim of winning more seats in the Sarawak election come true given the uncertain situation the party is in now.

The row over the swapping of seats between the party and PKR escalated when some DAP supporters briefly demonstrated against the party’s state leadership on Saturday for agreeing to the deal.

On Friday, the two partners in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition agreed to swap seats and have expressed confidence that their winnable candidates would ensure victory.

The DAP is the only strong opposition in the state given that the Chinese, mostly involved in businesses, are disappointed with Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.

Both PKR and PAS have yet to make any inroads despite fielding candidates in several state elections.

Seat allocations seem to be the obstacle that is threatening to break the chain linking all the opposition parties.

The DAP won six state seats in the Chinese-majority constituencies in the 2006 state election and now it aims to bag more seats – an extra nine – in the urban constituencies with a Chinese majority.

PKR is fielding candidates in more than 50 seats (Chinese as well as others) while PAS, as usual, is eyeing for Malay-majority seats, all currently held by Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB).

SNAP is contesting 27 seats after talks with PKR broke down and this further poses another obstacle for the opposition parties to unite and challenge the ruling BN on a one-to-one contest.

Murky scenario

The murky scenario does not bode well for the opposition, especially with the swap deal which DAP supporters feel will erode the party’s strength.

Besides, PKR is also feeling the heat with its de facto chief Anwar Ibrahim coming under relentless attack from the BN camp. The recent screening of a sex video purportedly showing a man resembling Anwar having sex with a Chinese woman has also become a fodder for the BN supporters.

Although campaigning starts on Wednesday, BN workers are already on the stump harping on the sex escapade, which is a hot topic in the state.

But Anwar, who has been campaigning for the last five days in the rural areas of Ibans, Dayaks and Malays, is doing his level best to focus public attention on Taib’s family members and their immense wealth.

Taib has become the target of opposition parties as they could not find other issues that could win the hearts and minds of Sarawakians to their cause. But the Taib factor alone is unlikely to sway voters to dump the BN.

Thus Pakatan’s aim of reducing BN’s two-thirds majority seems to be beyond reach and its best bet is on bagging some majority urban Chinese seats. It could win 15 urban seats, but that is not enough to deny BN its two-thirds majority.

While the opposition is squabbling over seats and harbouring fond hopes of creating another “political tsunami”, the BN is fighting hard to keep its 62 of the total 71 seats it holds at present. - FMT