S'WAK POLLS | LIVE BLOG DAY 4 The battle for Sarawak is beginning to heat up on the campaign trail.
Of note today are former UPP president Wong Soon Koh's planned day-long visits to longhouses in Bawang Assan, and a joint ceramah by Miri's two SUPP candidates for Senadin and Piasau tonight.
Also, expect more headlines on the DAP-PKR spat, as PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar hold a joint press conference on the matter in Kuala Lumpur.
Follow our LIVE BLOG as the Malaysiakini team in Sarawak brings you the news as it happens.
10pm - Batu Kawah, Kuching: Independent candidate Liu Thian Leong relates that he was advised by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to quit the Batu Kawah contest against SUPP candidate Sim Kui Hian.
In a joint ceramah at a temple near Sin San Tu Road, he says Najib had met him the day before nomination.
"He (Najib) said the local information is not positive for Dr Sim. I told the prime minister, thank you for looking me up."
"I couldn't sleep after meeting (Najib). (But) in order to face my supporters, I have decided to contest," he told the 40-strong crowd.
Regardless, Liu said he appreciated Najib's gentlemen advice.
Liu, who is the former UPP Batu Kawah chief, is contesting in Batu Kawah as an independent.
He is seen as a credible threat against Sim's chances to win the seat.
9.50pm - Batu Kawah, Kuching: Opposition ceramah continues to garner lacklusture response with only 500 people at the DAP ceramah in Kuching City Development Commercial Centre.
This is mainly seen to be due to Sarawak caretaker Chief Minister Adenan Satem banning popular speakers from the peninsula and the dampening effect from his near superstar level local popularity, as Malaysiakini observes.
The opposition's bombards of GST and 1MDB to the audience receives only lukewarm response.
DAP incumbent Christina Chiew urges the crowd to support Abdul Aziz Isa, a last minute candidate in Batu Kitang which is also contested by DAP ally PKR.
The ceramh at the Kuching City Development Commercial Centre nearby to Batu Kitang, can be seen as a means to shore up support for Abdul Aziz.
His fluent command of Mandarin helpes to enliven the ceramah as it encourages questions from the mainly Chinese audience.
In his speech Abdul Aziz avoids attacking PKR but launches fiery distribes against SUPP candidate Lo Khere Chiang.
"I am against Lo Khere Chiang and Adenan," he said without mincing his words.
BN candidates for 2 of Miri's 3 state seats, Piasau and Senadin, hold joint ceramah in housing area @malaysiakini pic.twitter.com/OL6B21dqgr
— Zikri Kamarulzaman (@zikri) April 28, 2016
SUPP song almost sounds like it uses DAP's "ubah" slogan instead of saying "ooh-hah!" #misheardlyrics @malaysiakini pic.twitter.com/lCj23f26Ne
— Zikri Kamarulzaman (@zikri) April 28, 2016
7.19pm - Kuching: Candidates for Batu Kawah - DAP's Christina Chew and BN's Dr Sim Kui Hian, ran into each other when campaigning at an agriculture wholesale centre in MJC.
The rival candidates and their respective campaign teams giving each other the cold shoulder even though they are only about five metres away from each other at times.
Chew, who is the incumbent Batu Kawah state assemblyperson, urges the people to support 'ubah' (change) to protest the goods and services tax.
Some accept her information booklets and chat with her about the state polls, while some refuse to take the booklets.
In chatting with the people, Sim promises to channel the people's problems to the local authorities.
He tells the people to support BN if they want their problems solved immediately.
6.17pm - Serian: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announces an allocation of RM2 million to rebuild St Jude's Church in Bunan Gega in Serian.
A million will be from the federal government and another from the state, he reportedly says.
This is after requests from the villagers of Kedup, where BN candidate Martin Ben hails from, The Borneo Post reported.
3.50pm - Miri: As the banner war heats up, one candidate in northern Sarawak is taking a more mobile approach to promote himself.
BN direct candidate for Pujut, Hii King Chiong, is advertising on the sides of taxis, which can be seen all around Miri town.
The other contestants for Miri's three state seats are currently sticking to the more traditional billboards, banners and flags.
2.50pm - Bakong, Marudi: Former Kapar MP S Manikavasagam makes a playful pledge that he would return to Sarawak and cane (rotan) PKR candidate Elia Bit if she does not perform well in the state assembly.
However, Manikavasagam quickly reassures the audience at a ceramah in a village in Bakong that they have nothing to worry about."She is bold. Outspoken. Sometimes more than myself. She will speak up for you," he says.
Manikavasagam is appointed as a 'YB Angkat' (Foster YB) by PKR for the state constituency of Marudi.
Among his tasks in that capacity is to mentor future candidates like Elia.
He says he is impressed by Elia's performance over the past six months he has spent coming in and out of Marudi, and assures that she would not be sitting idle in the state assembly.
12.07pm - Nangka, Sibu: PKR's Nangka candidate Ahmad Raafidin Majidi condemns the "rough treatment" of a Malaysiakini reporter last night by supporters of BN candidate Dr Annuar Rapaee. The reporter was reportedly shoved by supporters, after Annuar kicked her out of his event.
"It's clear that Annuar inherited Umno culture. Besides making bigoted statements and bringing racial politics into Sarawak, he is also blocking the media like Umno...
"There is no difference between Annuar and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who are both afraid of facing the media," Ahmad Raafidin says in a statement.
12pm - Kuching: PKR lodges a police report alleging its flags at Jalan Semarak, Kuching were torched.
"I regret that this has happened and I hope the Election Commission will take proactive measures," the PKR candidate for Tupong, Norhanim Hana Mokhsen, said.
"We paid a deposit and I hope the EC can monitor the situation. We hope this will not recur and that police can take further action," she says.
According to the police report lodged, the BN flags raised near the PKR flags were not torched.
10am - 10th Mile Kuching: Two opposition candidates and the BN nominated choice to contest for Batu Kitang go on their walkabouts simultaneously in 10th Mile Kuching.
The two opposition candidates - DAP's Abdul Aziz Isa and PKR's Voon Shiak Ni - do not encounter each other as they campaign in this Chinese-majority commercial area located at the outskirts of Kuching.
Vendors at the local wet market complain about municipal issues to the opposition candidates before voicing the same more vocally, when SUPP's candidate and Padawan municipal council chairperson Lo Khere Chiang tours the area with his team.
Citing rising living costs and corrupt practices, both opposition candidates call on voters to reject the state BN government, while Lo urges calm and says more can be done by working with the state BN.
"We are able to do more to help the poor in this area," Lo declares.
9.30am - Batu Kawah: Billboards of both BN Batu Kawah candidates, SUPP’s Sim Kui Hian and direct candidate Wong Soon Koh - have been vandalised.
In Kuching, Sim's billboard at Batu Kawah was splashed with white paint while another billboard at Jalan Stephen was burned, reports local newspaper See Hua Daily.
Similarly, Wong's billboard at Westbank was set on fire yesterday.
The persons in charge of the operations centres of Sim and Wong lodged police reports yesterday.
Such unhealthy election culture should be stopped in the entire election campaign, Sim is reported saying, while Wong calls it unethical.
Wong's operations centre also issues a statement, claiming the vandalising of candidates' propaganda materials only started in the past two elections.
It adds that the phenomenon of inciting hatred via the Internet is getting serious.
"That's why (caretaker Chief Minister) Adenan Satem stopped those extremists from entering Sarawak," it says, referring to the mass banning of peninsula opposition leaders and activists from entering the state
The police are investigating the vandalism acts under Section 435 of the Penal Code.
9.10am - Miri: BN direct candidate Hii King Chiong is using Facebook to get his message across to voters and to save them the hassle of attending ceramah sessions.
According to the Pujut candidate's media team, by posting videos of his speeches on social media, voters need not suffer from "rain and mosquitoes".
They will also save time from having to drive to ceramah locations and waiting for the event, the media team adds.
There is currently one video of Hii delivering his manifesto, which comes with Malay and English subtitles.
7.30am - Miri:- Police and teachers are among those in the hot water for alleged involvement in politics, according to today's Sarawak newspapers.
The Borneo Post and Utusan Borneo both had front-page articles warning police not to post political messages on social media.
This follows a police report by Telang Usan PKR candidate Roland Engan on Tuesday that a policeman had defamed him in a WhatsApp group.
Meanwhile two teachers lodged police reports yesterday after receiving warning letters from the Education Ministry not to get involved in the opposition's campaign.
They said SUPP's Francis Harden had filed a complaint letter alleging that both had helped the opposition.
The teachers deny the accusations.
