COMMENT Excitement has heightened in multiple degrees as the state polls loom over Sarawak in a matter of hours. The Land of the Hornbill or Bumi Kenyalang is awash with buntings and banners, posters and party flags.
No space is spared. From Mukah to Miri, from Sibu to Samarahan and from Limbang to Lundu, even the smallest roundabout is planted with election paraphernalia.
Everywhere one goes, talk about this Saturday’s polls is top on the agenda.
At the Sing Tiong kopitiam in Batu Sepuluh on the Kuching-Serian main road, a district officially called Kota Padawan, the clatter of the wok is drowned by the chatter of early morning breakfast patrons.
A group of five men seated at a table speak in a Chinese dialect in animated thrill. But one need not be an expert in Cantonese, Hokkien or the Foochow language to eavesdrop on their discussion.
From time to time, names like Najib and Adenan, Barisan and PKR, and Dap (for DAP) and even 1MDB spew out from their lips over steaming bowls of the iconic Sarawak Laksa and Kolok Mee.
With their inter-laced language you can’t be wrong, if you have guessed that their tete-a-tete is all about the eleventh Sarawak state elections.
Sarawakians go to the ballot box tomorrow, but the drama and dynamics came early when the incumbent Sarawak state government fired a barrage of salvos aimed at the opposition long before the first polling station opens for business tomorrow.
Chief Minister Adenan Satem banned peninsular-based opposition members from setting foot in Sarawak to campaign during the elections.
Opposition leaders like Lim Guan Eng and Azmin Ali were allowed into the state on a temporary basis to campaign during the election period but were told to leave after five days.
Another opposition leader from the peninsular, Hannah Yeoh, was packed off to Kuala Lumpur on arrival at the Kuching International Airport.
Nurul Izzah Anwar, Yeoh’s comrade-in-arms from across the South China Sea, suffered the same fate, while several other opposition personalities from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Selangor were also denied entry into the teeming tropical state.
Across the political divide, another drama unfolded with breakaway parties such as Teras and UPP contesting seats under the Barisan banner as ‘direct election candidates’ under a deal engineered by Adenan after their parties were prevented from joining Barisan due to disagreement from parties such as SUPP and SPDP.
‘Do-or-die, last-man-standing’ battle
The state opposition parties, too, played out their own shenanigans because of disagreements in contesting several seats between DAP and PKR.
Both parties would go to the polls battling each other, as well as Barisan, their common enemy - in what can be best described as a ‘do-or-die, last-man-standing’ battle for seats.
The DAP-PKR spat has created six multi-cornered fights in Batu Kitang, Mulu, Murum, Simanggang, Ngemah and Mambong.
In teeing-off the election campaign, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak called the Sarawak election a ‘precursor’ of the next general election, scheduled for 2018.
“A victory this week, will certainly form a very strong momentum for us moving forward,” he said.
But what is the hope and aspirations of the people of Sarawak? Will Najib’s ‘moving forward’ reflect tangibly in the lives of the natives after the victory parade?
Has anything changed for the better on the ground since the last election in 2011?
Just three kilometres from Kota Padawan, a long and winding road brings me to Kampung Quop, a historical Bidayuh bastionwhich has come a long way since 1860 - but still retains its rustic landscape reminiscent of the typical kampung of old Malaya in the sixties.
It is late in the evening and the moon is brilliantly casting its light as I arrive at the home of Lawrence anak Rubet. Lawrence and his brother-in-law, Jim Brown anak Madrod, are relaxing in the veranda which connects both their homes.
It is time to relax after dinner for both men as they sip Royal, a cheap whiskey sold at the village kedai runcit (grocer) and popular in Sarawak’s native heartland - not because it is the choice of connoisseurs but it is the cheapest alcoholic luxury at only RM9 per litre.
Both Lawrence and Jim Brown are in their forties and are Bidayuh. They are registered voters and will be voting tomorrow.
Lighting a cigarette, Lawrence leans back and says, “Yes, I will be voting as it is my right to choose my government.”
Lawrence hails from Seratau, his place of birth and will be casting his ballot there, whereas Jim Brown will be voting at the multi-purpose hall in Kampung Quop.
For both men, life is a drag and a drudgery as it is tough trying to make ends meet. Lawrence works in a glass factory nearby, whereas Jim Brown works for a native cultural foundation.
‘Bread and butter issues every day’
“There is nothing much in terms of changes since the last election,” says Jim Brown, a bachelor. If there had been allocations handed out in the previous election to improve our lot here, we are yet to experience its tangible benefits directly,” he laments.
“Life here has not changed much, it is the same, day in day out, and I think it has been the same after every election. For us, it is bread and butter issues every day. Putting food on the table is our biggest challenge as basic kitchen commodities like cooking oil, flour and rice have all gone up in price,” says Jim Brown.
Lawrence frowns, takes another long swig of his whiskey and says, “I am disappointed, we are burdened all the time and have to fork out money from the little that we earn. I have three school-going children and one unemployed son. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is only making things tough for us. I earn just a little less than RM1,000.
“I am not talking about any big ticket items, but to provide my family with just the basics is a major strain on my pocket. We do not have enough money to purchase the things that we need and there is nothing left to save.
“My wife works at a tadika as a helper and earns just RM400. My eldest daughter is in the second year of her STPM. She needs a computer to do her assignments, but I cannot afford it. Next year she will go to college or university. I do not know where to find money for her studies. Hidup kita kais pagi, makan pagi, kais petang, makan petang (We live from hand to mouth),” he adds.
The plight of both, Lawrence and Jim Brown mirror the typical hardship faced by the households in Kampung Quop. Take the case of Angela (not her real name) who scored five As in her SPM last year. She is not able to continue her studies due to financial constraints faced by her parents. So Angela is now working at a nearby bird’s nest farm as a labourer.
Jim Brown and Lawrence were prudent not to disclose who they will vote for, but hinted that they want to see a transformation in their respective villages. We want to see things changing on the ground in terms of infrastructure and improved quality of life for the people.
Jim pointed out that one area that could be improved is the transportation system. According to him, for years now there has been no public transportation to serve the village.
“We could do with a decent and reliable bus service to transport school children to schools and for senior citizens and housewives to travel to the nearby cities and towns to do their daily errands.”
“Yes indeed, I am happy that the Pan-Borneo Highway will see the light of day, but where are the buses to serve the rural routes?” he asks.
He also pointed out that garbage collection is unpredictable and is irregular and hence rubbish is left by the roadside and this is not healthy. “We want a central rubbish disposal hub in the village that is managed properly by the council,” he adds.
On the macro level, Lawrence pointed out that the GST should be abolished and the price of petrol be reduced to a meaningful and affordable rate.
Skills and character training
He also wants to see more allocation for special programmes to provide skills and character training for rural youths and special initiatives to uplift the living standards of women and the elderly.
“The government that comes into power or retains power must strive to enhance the quality of life as this is paramount and leads on to progress and success and the creation of a dynamic rural society,” says Lawrence.
Jim Brown chips in, saying community development and empowerment of people is as important as the provision of basics such as a higher minimum wage which must be equivalent to that of our counterparts in semenanjung (West Malaysia).
For both these men, ‘people power’ means exercising their constitutional right to vote and bringing a positive change through the ballot box.
“We are hopeful that change will come and being Christians we believe in miracles. Change may be slow in coming but it will eventually come, just as how water changed into wine.
“It has happened before and it can happen again,” says Jim Brown, as he downs the last drop of his Royal whiskey.
JM JOSEPH is a freelance writer based in Kuching. He is a veteran journalist with a special fondness for the Dayak people in the Land of the Hornbill.
