ANALYSIS In contesting the lion’s share of the 25 Malay-Melanau majority seats in Sarawak, PKR has its work cut out.

And out to win hearts and minds yesterday - in what many regard as Sarawak BN anchor party PBB’s stronghold areas - was its star and de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

pkr batu lintang ceramah 120411 anwar Starting at the Bidayuh-majority Bengoh constituency, some 70km southwest of Kuching, Anwar made a dash across five other state seats surrounding the capital city with only one - Batu Lintang - being a Chinese-majority area.

The rest - Demak Laut , Tupong , Satok and Muara Tuang (where PAS is contesting) - are Malay-majority areas within a 40km radius of downtown Kuching.  

Anwar was not the only one with his eye on these seats. Also zig-zagging the western tip of Sarawak was Umi Hafilda Ali, a witness in his first sodomy trial.

Perhaps by fate, the duo missed one another at several venues, including the quiet fishing village of Kampung Seberang Bako and the downtown PBB stronghold Satok, by a mere hour.

Anwar’s message, albeit tailored for the Malay-Muslim crowd, has been fairly consistent with Pakatan’s Rakyat campaign points: ‘We represent all races and religions and aim to be fair to all. We are one in our fight against corruption, especially against the enemy of the state, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.”

Those who caught pkr batu lintang ceramah 120411 anwar him last night would have noticed that his speeches had a certain religious bent.

Speaking to the mainly Muslim crowd, Anwar would use the Quran to drive his points home, reminding his audience that Islam calls for fairness and good governance.

To some extent, it appeared to be working on fairly pious Muslim communities.

In Satok, where Anwar garnered a crowd of about 1,000, Fatimah Suyong, who is in her late 50s, told Malaysiakini : "We must always remember that we are judged in the afterlife.

“When we are buried, we’ll be questioned by God, so we need to make sure we beribadat and not support graft.”

When a video of Taib was aired, Fatimah muttered “malaun” (someone who is damned) at the sight of the CM and said the state government had shortchanged her when it took over her land not too long ago.

Land-based gripes were also a campaign point in Demak Laut, with PKR banners reminding villagers that compensation was still owed to people whose land had been taken at Assar Sanari, where a factory now stands.

Smut and scandal

But while grassroots leaders supporting local boy and PKR candidate Ali Hossin Abang spoke of local development in the mainly lower- to middle-income villagers, in the next door Umi had other things on her mind.

The self-proclaimed ‘community activist’ railed against Anwar, leading the crowd in chants of Anwar gila seks (Anwar is a sex maniac) and Hidup Mahathir (Long live Mahathir).  

NONE Naming former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the saviour of the Malays, Umi worked the crowd of 200 - a third of whom appeared to be children under 12 - into a frenzy with descriptions of smut and scandal.

Kampung Seberang Bako has about 100 traditional wooden houses built over water, with each accommodating several families.

Speaking at the PBB-sponsored event, Umi also mentioned Iban Baginda Minda, who recently claimed that she was no saint either because she ‘had illicit sex with him’.

“So I sued him for RM100 million recently!” she proudly exclaimed, before telling the audience not to vote for PKR, and that the party’s symbol actually depicted “Anwar’s anus”.

The crude talk, which at times took place in the dark due to erratic electricity supply, seemed to amuse the adults, but several asked by Malaysiakini admitted to not knowing who Umi is.

“I just know she is from the peninsula,” said a man.

Asked if he believes Umi, another man, who wanted to be known only as Yazid, chuckled uncomfortably and said: “All these things they are saying about Anwar… tak tau lah (I just don’t know).”

Boost for BN

Yesterday former PKR Youth leader and now BN senator Ezam Mohd Nor Nor was spotted campaigning for the ruling coalition in Malay areas around Kuching.

azlan Many more personalities from the peninsula - including those who have fallen out with PKR - are expected to emerge in the PBB camp in this second half of the campaign.

It is understood that another PKR turncoat, Lokman Adam, is in the state for the duration of the campaign.

BN has, ironically, warned Sarawakians against falling for the wiles of ‘ghosts’ from the peninsula.

Demak Laut - where many PKR flags were spotted - has traditionally supported BN, as have Satok, Muara Tuang and Tupong.

PKR insiders claim that the coalition is hoping to increase its vote bank there by about 10 percent. BN took about 70 percent of votes in Malay-majority areas in 2006.

AIDILA RAZAK is a member of the Malaysiakini team.