Minos: Rural majority for BN, Chinese seats uncertain

The DAP are "master spinners" and "instigators", "exploiting what was disturbing the minds of the urbanites".

KUCHING: Parti Pesaka Bumiputera (PBB) veteran Peter Minos has expressed confidence that 80 per cent of the rural electorate will go for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) Sarawak on May 7 when the state goes to the polls. “The people in the 66 non-Chinese and rural-based seats will flock to the BN.”

“However, we are not too sure about the 16 urban-based and Chinese-majority seats.”

Minos, who was giving his take in the local media on Sunday, added nevertheless that “most people think that out of the 16 seats, four will likely go to BN, while the rest could go either way. That means BN will win 70 out of 82 seats.”

“This is the common talk right now in the towns.”

He conceded that urban folks are not happy with many BN policies and decisions. “Many are not agreeable with what goes on in Kuala Lumpur or what it (the Federal Government) has done.”

“The Democratic Action Party (DAP) is in their minds because of all these things.”

The DAP, he charged, were “master spinners” and “instigators”, “exploiting what was disturbing the minds of the urbanites”. “It’s not just the 1MDB scandal, GST, political donations and cost of living issues that disturb the urban people.”

“It has been often pointed out that policies on education, affirmative action, language and others have long made the urban people unhappy. This has been the case since 1963 and especially after the New Economic Policy (1970-1990).”

Minos, continuing, believes that the DAP’s “massive anti-BN propaganda” has worked. “The urban people seem to believe them, hook, line and sinker.”

“No matter what the BN and the government do in the urban areas, the people are still unhappy, critical and cynical. This has been generally observed.”

Explaining his claim that four urban seats will go BN’s way and the rest may go either way, Minos admitted that this was based on a certain degree of wishful thinking and living on hope among supporters of the ruling coalition. “The BN’s hope is that some urban people will think of Chief Minister Adenan Satem and his policies and decisions and swing to it.”

“It’s because of this that a few urban seats are expected to return to the BN.”

Returning to his central theme that the DAP has a firm grip in the urban areas, he pointed out that the party has been arguing that what goes on in Kuala Lumpur was due to BN Sarawak supporting the Federal Government. “DAP tries very hard to link BN Sarawak to BN National. BN Sarawak and Adenan, according to DAP, are also to be blamed for Kuala Lumpur’s problems and its sins.”

“This is very unfair but that’s DAP’s politics.”