By Lim Yin Kuin

Sir,

I am a Malaysian student in a U.S. university and would like to comment on something I found outrageous about the Sarawak state election.

How is it that Chinese people make up the majority in Sarawak (something the mainstream media is not keen on mentioning often), yet Chinese candidates were left to fight for around 20 or so seats out of 71 in the state assembly? While I’m not a fan of political parties chasing votes from specific communities (PBB vs. PKR for Malays/Melanaus, SUPP vs. DAP for Chinese), how is it that the battle between DAP and SUPP to win the Chinese vote became a sideshow while PBB and Taib retained their political dominance while representing a minority of Sarawak’s population?

Of course, those questions are rhetorical. We all know the reasons behind them and no one dares ask why. For a Chinese person to question his or her lack of political representation is the worst form of political incorrectness in Malaysia.

Yet, this isn’t an issue about one race versus another (like a zero sum game). It’s a question of fairness, and whether or not to allow those in power (with questionable legitimacy) to do whatever they wish, to subordinate whomever they want in their quest for more power and wealth at the expense of those who are subordinated.

This issue paints a relevant picture of the unfair rules that opposition parties have to play by during elections. Again, I would like to emphasize how it sickens me that racial politics dominate our elections, but it does and here’s my take on it: Chinese people are the majority of Sarawak’s population. They are more likely to not vote in favor of Barisan Nasional, hence the electoral boundaries are gerrymandered in a way that: Read the rest of this entry »

By Shannon Teoh
April 16, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 — Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) won all 35 seats it contested in today’s polls but its president Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud will still take the fall for Sarawak Barisan Nasional’s (BN) loss of 16 seats.

Coalition chief Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in a press conference tonight that BN will stick to the pledge that the Sarawak chief minister would step down after the state election.

“When the time is right, we will fulfil the promise,” the prime minister said when asked about whether Abdul Taib would be ending his 30-year term. He did not specify the timing for Taib’s resignation.

Opposition parties improved on their 2006 tally of eight by winning 15 seats this time around.

It was also reported that BN saw its comfortable popular majority of 62.93 per cent slashed to just 55.24 per cent, a clear warning that the state could no longer be considered a fixed deposit in future elections.

Najib also said that he would use the results of the Sarawak election as a guide for when to call federal polls which are expected to be held within a year.

Analysts have said that the results would translate into further losses for BN in Parliament if Abdul Taib is not forced to quit before a general election.

During the 10-day campaign, the Umno president had pledged that Abdul Taib would step down after the polls.

However, the 74-year-old Abdul Taib immediately responded by insisting that he would only resign “after a few years.”

By Dr Bridget Welsh

A loss of its two-thirds majority in Sarawak was unthinkable less than 10 days ago, but now the focus centres around this key marker.

The last day of the campaign has started and for the past few days, it has been ratcheted up to fever pitch on both sides.

Larger crowds in the towns for the opposition have coincided with extensive, almost frenzied, visits by BN cabinet ministers far and wide throughout the state.’

Make no mistake about this – the stakes are high. This is a campaign that has national implications as BN’s hold on power is at stake. A loss of the two-thirds majority in Sarawak was unthinkable less than 10 days ago, and now the focus centres around this important marker.

It has been made clear that Sarawakians have the power to set the political direction for the country.

Three decisive groups

The situation on the ground remains very fluid with an unprecedented undecided voters, especially among the state’s largest group, the Dayak.

The range of possible outcomes moves from a minimum of 10 seats for the opposition to a maximum of 32, on the heels of a change in government. The reason for this wide range lies with the high degree of unknowns and the small swing needed to change results in tight seats. Read the rest of this entry »

By Teresa Kok

I’m surprised that The Star reported yesterday that the Association of Churches Sarawak (ACS) has expressed regret at Pakatan Rakyat regarding our closed door meeting. The Star’s report is intentionally incomplete, and is politically-motivated to paint Pakatan Rakyat leaders in a negative light and a desperate last-ditch attempt to mislead the public for tomorrow’s Sarawak state elections.

I wish to clarify what happened.

ACS leaders had agreed to meet Pakatan Rakyat leaders in a closed door meeting with the requests that

a) they would not hold any press conference together with us, and that
b) we would not allow members of the media to come into the room to photograph our meeting, which Pakatan Rakyat fully complied with.

ACS leaders saw the presence of the media when they arrived at the venue. They also saw Pakatan Rakyat not allowing the media to enter the room to take pictures of us.

ACS leaders were aware that the media were waiting outside the venue. They never forbade us from speaking to the media. And we Pakatan leaders could not have been expected to ignore the media after the closed door dialogue session when the media had been waiting outside all the while. It was understood that Pakatan would speak with the reporters after the meeting ended. Read the rest of this entry »