In Kuching and Sibu, battle shifts to the streets

 

SARAWAK POLLS | The Sarawak election campaign is being conducted under very strict rules which forbid ceramah (political talks) in cities so candidates have resorted to using billboards to "talk" to each other.

In Kuching, Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen is being fielded in Padungan - traditionally a DAP stronghold.

While his billboards and banners try to portray DAP as a reliable opposition in Sarawak, some of them are being defaced with smaller "Parti Malaya" stickers.

In Sabah and Sarawak, there is a palpable anti-Peninsular Malaysia sentiment, while the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition, along with Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), are campaigning on a "Sarawakian party" platform.

Chong's opponent is GPS candidate Wee Hong Seng. His billboards are accompanied by banners insinuating DAP is a "frog" because it is part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

This seems to be in reference to how numerous Harapan federal lawmakers defected early last year, causing the collapse of the Harapan federal government and several state governments.

Another banner questioned Chong over his alleged promise for an annual payout of RM2,000 per Sarawakian.

Ahead of the 2018 elections, Chong pledged on behalf of Sarawak Harapan that a Harapan federal government will channel 20 percent of the state's oil revenue and 50 percent of tax collected in Sarawak back to the state.

However, that did not happen. Chong issued a statement on Dec 6 claiming that then chief minister Abang Johari Abang Openg rejected the offer.

Also in Kuching, Sih Hua Tong, the SUPP candidate for Batu Lintang, was recorded on video protesting attempts by enforcement personnel to "modify" his poster depicting the incumbent as a "frog".

The incumbent is PSB's See Chee How. In April last year, See was sacked from PKR. He joined PSB a month later.

Over in Sibu, Robert Lau, the SUPP candidate for Bawang Assan, has billboards stating, in Chinese, that he will "get work done".

Soon after it was erected, a small banner carrying the DAP logo was strung up under the billboard, questioning Lau's commitment to Sibu, with the words: "Where's your home? Sibu or Kuching?".

Bukit Assek incumbent Irene Oi was also the target of opponents who erected small billboards next to her posters with the words: "Four terms, 20 years, zero service, zero development. Five more years is pointless".

This was in reference to Bukit Assek having been represented by the opposition since 2006. Oi is seeking a second term.

Sarawak goes to the polls tomorrow.

-Mkini