your say 'Everyone who claims to bring greatness to Sarawak is only going to feather his nest and that of his relatives and cronies.'

 

Pakatan vows one-on-one fight in Sarawak

Ahmad Iqhbal: Kuching is a big draw for the politicians, the place where some politicians have to go for broke.

Going one-on-one against BN is a good strategy. There will be lots of ‘sponsored' independents, opportunists waiting for the buy-me-out offers, trash-heap froggies, and so on. Not to be outdone are the bias Election Commission, enforcement agencies, racial agent provocateurs, the seditious spin-masters with their publications and flyers, and other desperadoes at their meanest.

Satinah Osman: Sarawakians must know by now that their votes are essential for Malaysia and the generations to come. They must not believe the ‘maji' (wise men) who will come with 'goodies' for the people, the spin-writers of glory stories, the offers that will never materialise and the rhetoric of BN and its goons.

Beware. Everyone who claims to bring greatness to Sarawak is only going to feather his nest and that of his relatives and cronies. Look at Peninsular Malaysia and its politicians, past and present. Where on earth did they get their mansions and wealth? By looting and cheating on the rakyat, of course.

HNL: Twenty-nine years of Taib's BN government in Sarawak is more than enough. Prime ministers, presidents and dictators all over the world have changed many times during the last 29 years... except for Sarawak.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad who became PM in 1981 - the same year Taib became CM - has left. So has Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. CMs and menteris besar of other states have changed many times... except Sarawak.

Surely there must be many other Sarawakians with better brains and intelligence than Taib, such as Idris Jala, who has been appointed to and entrusted with very important posts and responsibilities.

The Other Guy : If Sarawakian leaders can't put aside their personal agendas and rural Sarawakians can't see beyond their jungle trees, they all deserve to be colonised forever by West/Peninsular Malaysia's fascists and supremacists. They won't get an ounce of pity from us.

Nicole: Pakatan Rakyat would be wasting their time and resources campaigning in the rural areas. The natives will only vote for BN in exchange for roof zinc, fertilisers, RM10 in cash, etc. Remember Sarawak is BN's fixed deposit.

Rayfire: Let this be a test case for Pakatan. Please choose the best candidates, and not just any Tom, Dick and Harry who volunteers. Do not repeat the mistakes made in 2008. Be wary of frogs, wannabes and scrutinise each candidate's credibility and commitment. Don't just choose according to race. If you do, you would be no different from BN.

It doesn't matter if you don't win, but do make it a point to place the most credible candidates on the nomination list. And follow up even after the election so that they become agents of change in Sarawak.

If not now, the desired change will happen in the future. There is a wind of change in Sarawak. Make use it! Don't seek sympathy votes there by citing the Perak issue or Anwar Ibrahim's case. They have different concerns over there. Identify them well, and God willing, change may happen sooner than we think.

Azmil Tayeb: Pakatan must bring up the ills of Taib Mahmud and Sarawak BN parties of victimisation and corrupt practices to the rural folks as this impact on their life which is without much basic amenities. Don't bring in the peninsular reasons in the ceramah, otherwise Pakatan will have less chances to win. Bring out the issues close to the Sarawakian heart.

Xtcher: It's good that the opposition parties plan ahead to work together as against one another. I see the election as a case of idealism of the opposition versus money - tons and tons of it from the timber tycoons and the taxpayers' money and promises upon promise of goodies from the BN. Remember Batang Ai?

Magnus: How many of the voters in Sarawak have access to literacy, a free, unbiased press and the Internet?

Sukdershan Singh: My gut feeling is: BN will browbeat the opposition.

 

Race is on for Taib Mahmud's successor

Ferdtan: The guessing game is quite easy. Chief Minister Taib Mahmud will only step down after the Sarawak elections and he will choose a lame duck who will ensure his son's interests are promoted.

After what happened to our former PM (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi), Taib better have safeguards to ensure his anointed CM will not play him out .

HNL: The question now is not on who will succeed Taib but whether PBB and Sarawak BN will be voted out in the coming state election. We have had enough of both.

PBB and its leaders illustrate the classic case of ‘pagar makan padi' type of party and leaders. PBB tells the natives in Sarawak that it is a party representing bumiputeras. But look all over Sarawak, and you'll find the bumiputeras' native customary right lands given to PBB cronies, the big towkays in return for election funds.

Poppy: Anyone ever wonder why dictators never seem to die? The devil's revenge on the world perhaps? Or God is too busy accounting the evil deeds they do to their own people?

 

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