Long-serving Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud is likely to call for a fresh mandate in April.

He is expected to seek the dissolution of the Sarawak State Assembly in the middle of next month to pave the way for elections to the 71 state seats.

Based on past experience, an election is held within a month of the dissolution of the state assembly.

NONE In 2006, the state assembly was dissolved on April 24, with nominations fixed for May 9 and polling on May 20.

"Talk that Taib ( right ) will meet Yang di-Pertua Negeri Abang Muhamad Salahuddin Abang Barieng to get his consent to dissolve the state assembly this week is not correct," a Parti Pesaka Bumiputra (PBB) leader, who did not want to be named, said today.

He said the PBB headquarters, the nerve centre of the Barisan Nasional, was quiet. "Nothing much is going on there now," he added.

It is learnt that Taib will be in Sibu on Feb 19 for an official function.

Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) secretary-general Wilfred Nissom, agreed with this view, saying that practice has been for the chief minister to meet leaders of the BN component parties before dissolving the state assembly.

"As far as I know, Taib has not met with the leaders," he said, noting that many programmes had been planned for the next few months as part of election preparations to drum up support for the ruling coalition.

Among these are the BN convention scheduled for March 5.

Many meet-the-people sessions yet to be held

"We (BN) leaders will also have a meeting with the Election Commission in Kuching on Feb 19. I think it has got to do with the new election rules and regulations," he said.

azlan An official from the state Information Department said most of the ongoing programmes for state leaders to meet with the people had not been completed.

These programmes include Sejiwa Senada, which started last year to give opportunities for the people to interact with their leaders.

About 60,000 people attended the recent Sejiwa Senada in Limbang last week and the PBB leader said four more such programmes were yet to be held, with the last to be take place in Kuching at the end of March.

He said another programme linked to the election was a gathering of youths from throughout the state on March 15. About 5,000 are expected to attend this event at the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching.

State Election Commission director Takun Sungah said the commission would hold a course for presiding officers, deputy presiding officers and polling clerks in Sarawak after the Merlimau by-election on March 6.

"We have yet to fix the date for the course," Takun said, adding that it would be a one-day programme.

He also denied that the state election would be held so soon.

The Barisan Nasional, comprising PBB, PRS, Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), won 62 seats in the 2006 state election, while the opposition won nine.

However, one of the opposition assemblypersons, Johnical Rayong, who won on a Sarawak National Party (Snap) ticket, subsequently jumped to Supp.

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