Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim has kicked off the opposition campaign in Dayak areas by asking voters to end the 24-year rule of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud in the upcoming state election.

"It's time for change... enough of corruption and abuse of power," he told a gathering of about 1,500 Ibans, mainly members of Sarawak National Party (Snap) and the defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), at Aping Dadak Longhouse, 120km from Kuching.

Anwar, who is Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor, was accompanied by party deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali, secretary-general Kamarul Ariffin and state liaison chief Wan Zainal Abidin.

He pointed out the existence of a "credible alternative" to the Barisan Nasional, saying that its members have experience in government.

Anwar's 45-minute speech yesterday was punctuated with occasional jibes at Taib. It received loud applause from the crowd which filled the 22-door longhouse.

Among those present were former deputy chief minister and former PBDS president Daniel Tajem; Snap president Edwin Dundang, his deputy Justine Jinggut and secretary-general Stanley Jugol; Malaysian Dayak Congress(MDC) pro-tem president Nicholas Bawin, who is also Sarawak Dayak National Union (SNDU) president; and longhouse chief Christopher Ambu.

Anwar also responded to Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu's recent criticism of him as "a political tourist attending a longhouse picnic".

He said he knew Jabu and described him as a cicak (a house lizard with a long body that is always hiding behind something) and himself as a naga (a dragon and a mythical monster usually represented as a winged, fire-breathing repltile).

Anwar, typical of his political persona, implied that as such Jabu might have to be careful which the crowd clearly saw as a warning to the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) deputy president not to cross path with him.

'Legal genocide'

Anwar also spoke about a recent World Bank meeting that he attended. He said he saw a disturbing report on Malaysia's poverty index which revealed that most of the 1 million hardcore poor comprised Sarawak's Dayaks and Sabah native peoples.

"Sarawak is rich, the leaders are rich but the rakyat is poor," he said, adding at a press conference later in Kuching that this was why he had called for a change of state government.

Tajem meanwhile said the state government is carrying out a "legal genocide" by using the law to take away native customary rights (NCR) land and to abolish the word 'Dayak' as a subtle means of annihilating the community.

Aping Dadak is one of several longhouses in the Pantu area in Sri Aman Division that has been affected by oil palm plantation activities.

Jacob Emang, a retired senior education officer and longhouse reception organising chairperson, said all such plantation companies should be asked to leave until NCR land issues are resolved.

Anwar also met state PKR and Snap leaders to discuss strategy, including seat allocation, for the elections. He told reporters that he would also meet state DAP and PAS leaders to find common ground for a single agenda.

He addressed Chinese and Malay groups separately yesterday evening.