Malaysia Chronicle

Pakatan Rakyat leaders are raring to go in Sarawak, where there is red-hot speculation that snap state elections will be held in July.

“Today, there is a news report of another BN meeting this weekend. Last week, there was also a whole day meeting. This is a sure sign for an early election,” Bukit Assek assemblyman and newly-elected Sibu MP Wong Ho Leng told Malaysia Chronicle.

Ironically, it was Wong’s shock victory in Sibu last month that convinced many pundits to change their forecast of a July state-polls to early 2011.

Salvaging an eroding support base

The buzz on the grapevine was that long-serving but unpopular Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud had agreed with Prime Minister Najib Razak to hold the 10th Sarawak state elections at the same time as the 13th general election for the entire nation.

“It looks like there has been a change of plans. I believe Taib is worried the longer he delays the greater the erosion of support for him and his government,” PKR chief strategist Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“Both he and Najib may have decided to take the bull by the horns. They probably believe that this way, they can still retain control of the Sarawak state government even though with a much reduced majority. It also shows that Najib is not as confident about the timeline for 13th general election despite blowing his trumpet about his 72 percent approval rating.”

Najib, who was appointed prime minister in April 2009, must hold nationwide polls by March 2013. However, he is under pressure to do so much earlier as he has failed to push through any of his economic or social development programs for the country due mainly to his inability to curb internal politicking within his Umno party.

But will the winds of change blow in the Land of the Hornbills

There are 71 state seats in the Sarawak legislative assembly. At the moment, 63 of these are held by the BN and BN-friendly representatives. Pakatan holds a total of 7 seats – through DAP six and PKR one seat.

“To be frank, Pakatan has been playing it safe and we have based our strategy on a snap poll taking place towards the end of this year. We are confident and we are ready and I would say to Sarawakians – it is now or never. Let’s make the change together,” Tian said.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Sarawakians will take to the Pakatan’s message of reforms. They did not do so in the 9th Sarawak state elections held in 2006 despite being ravaged by poverty after three decades of Taib’s political dominance.

Then in 2008, together with Sabah, they helped Najib’s BN coalition hold onto the federal government with a simple majority in Parliament. In Peninsular Malaysia, Pakatan had swept 81 parliamentary seats versus BN’s 84.

“Yes, we lost the federal government in 2008 because of Sabah and Sarawak. But sometimes the pangs for reforms are delayed. The thing is … better late than never,” PKR Youth Chief Shamsul Iskandar told Malaysia Chronicle.

“Sabahans and Sarawakians must be responsible for their future because as the saying goes – you deserve the government you vote in. No point complaining about NCR land rights, identity cards that never get processed and so forth but you don’t do anything about it.”

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Sarawak BN To Meet For Early Election?
The Malaysian Insider
June 23, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — An unannounced Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) meeting this weekend has given rise to speculation that the state is possibly gearing up for an early election before its term ends in July, next year.

Several BN leaders, when contacted, confirmed that a meeting called by Chief Minister and state BN chairman Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud would take place this weekend.

But they remain tight-lipped on the agenda of the meeting.

“Yes, we have a meeting this weekend but sorry, it’s not for media coverage,” a state leader, who did not want to be identified, told Bernama.

Party insiders said the meeting was mainly to discuss preparations in the event of an early state election this year, after the Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), the biggest state BN component, completes its five-day retreat session in Mulu on Friday.

PBB holds 34 state seats, followed by Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) with 11, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) nine and the Sarawak Progresive Democratic Party (SPDP) eight.

Only SUPP and PRS have lost the seats they contested to the Opposition, in the last state election in 2006, while PBB and SPDP won all.

SUPP was allocated 19, but lost eight seats to the opposition, particularly DAP, while PRS, which was allocated 10 state seats, lost the Ngemah seat to an independent.

The state has 71 constituencies.

According to the grapevine, of late, the state election might be held this year, despite the BN’s recent setback in the Sibu parliamentary by-election where its SUPP candidate failed to defend the seat which was won by DAP.

Such talk became intense after Taib last week openly said that he had decided the next state election would be held on “a Saturday”. “I have decided that the state election will be held on a Saturday,” he

said, without providing any other hint when asked by a reporter during a function at his office.

However, Taib dismissed speculation that the state election will be held in October, following suggestions from Fengshui experts who believed that 10/10/10 (Oct 10, 2010), a Sunday, was an auspicious day for the election.