I refer to Malaysiakini report Pakatan face acid test in Batang Ai
The coming by-election in Sarawak due to the death of the incumbent state assembly person for Batang Ai will be a golden opportunity for the opposition fronts to spread their wings in the Hornbill State.
Regardless whether the opposition candidate comes from DAP or PKR , it is incumbent on for Sarawak opposition party members to close ranks in order to defeat the BN candidate in this crucial coming state by-election.
After all, Anwar Ibrahim had proclaimed earlier that his opposition front Pakatan Rakyat will go all out to oust the long standing chief minister of Sarawak who has been there for ages and this crucial by-election will test the opposition’s strength in trying to dislodge the present corrupt state government from office.
A win by the opposition front in Batang Ai in this coming by-election will be a major step towards boosting their chances of capturing the state in the coming state polls which is due to be held within two years.
First Batang Ai, then Sarawak state and finally the federal government when the next general election is held.
There is a lot of disquiet among the local people on the lack of development in the Hornbill State. This despite Sarawak being blessed with good natural resources which can lift the local population from their abject poverty.
People there even mow have to endure big floods which affect their homes and businesses. The floods occur as large tracts of ye natural rainforests have been given as timber concession to the chief minister’s cronies. This has caused Mother Nature to strike back with a vengeance.
On top of that, the present chief minister of Sarawak has been there for eons with no sign of him retiring to make way for a new face. While other leaders have retired to be replaced by new ones, Sarawakian are still stuck with the same chief minister who has been there since 1981.
That was the same year Dr Mahathir Mohamad become premier of this country but Taib Mahmud still wants to lead the state to the next state polls. Only Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has stayed in power for that long and all other world leaders have come and gone.
The recent ban on two PKR leaders entering the state shows that the chief minister’s is afraid that the local people might embrace the winds of change that have swept the peninsula since the last general election nearly a year ago.
The winds of change are unstoppable as the last two by-elections have clearly shown that BN is losing the people’s support.
BN is afraid of facing voters in any by-election as they are not confident of winning like before. Unlike before, BN’s promise of development plus money will not win votes as people’s expectations are higher these days.
The impending two by-elections in Perak and Kedah will be a good barometer to see whether the people still support the present regime or are willing to take a chance and show the BN candidates to the door while welcoing the Pakatan Rakyat representatives.
The old and aging chief minister of Sarawak will meet his Waterloo in the coming state polls as under his iron rule, his family and cronies become filthy rich at the expenses of the marginalised population who are still stuck in their cycle of poverty.
While the majority suffers, the local elites enjoy the fruits of the state with impunity.
The incoming prime minister, who will take office on April 1, will have a lot on his hands to handle when he takes over from Pak Lah. Surely losing one by-election after another will not make Najib Abdul Razak popular among the grassroots.
Sarawakians need to change for the better by exercising their right at the ballot box. The locals deserve better leaders than the present lot who seem to be ambivalent about the economic pie not being divided evenly.
Enough of the feudal rule as being practice by Taib Mahmud. Wake up, Sarawakians and remove the tainted out of office. After suffering for so long under one man rule, Sarawkians deserve better than the gloom of the past decades.
Only a regime change will do; go for it.
