The Sibu by-election result has triple far-reaching implications for Sibu, Sarawak and Malaysia.
Most important of all, the DAP/PR victory in the Sibu parliamentary by-election on Sunday sparks new hopes for a Pakatan Rakyat Federal Government in the next 13th General Election in Malaysia.
In one fell swoop, the Sibu Miracle achieved triple national impacts: viz:
What is most promising is the support Pakatan Rakyat received from both voters (including voters who had voted for BN in the by-election) and the young generation who are not registered voters, showing that the future is one that holds great promise provided Pakatan Rakyat parties are prepared to work from now onwards on Sarawak state.
There was a swing of some 6.4% of the Chinese voters from 63% to 69.4% (there would have been a greater swing to probably 75% if not for the Najib factor).
There was interestingly a 2.7% increase of Malay/Melanau vote for Ho Leng as compared to 2008.
The SUPP/BN campaign in the Sibu by-election was most successful in locking up the Iban long houses with the twin politics of money and intimidation, resulting in the DAP/PR candidate suffering a marginal loss of 2.6% of Iban votes.
However, the favourable support the DAP/PR campaign received among both Iban and Melanau/Malay voters demonstrated that both the Iban and Melanau/Malay constituencies are fertile grounds for making inroads for the forthcoming Sarawak state and federal elections.