A rocket, a weighing scale, and a tree.

Three different men with their unique personalities will hit the streets and villages of Sibu with their own agendas, and party logos as the race for the Sibu parliamentary seat kicks off today.

It was a relatively tame morning at the nomination centre at Dewan Suarah as returning officer Wong See Meng announced the three candidates contesting for the seat: Wong Ho Leng (DAP), Robert Lau Hui Yew (Barisan Nasional) and Narawi Haron (independent).

NONE Wong ( left ), in his fourth contest for a parliamentary seat, faced the media confidently and declared that he will be "fourth time lucky."

A veteran with vast political experience, Wong sailed effortlessly through the press conference, tempering his party’s 40-60 odds with his own measured optimism.

"It will be an uphill battle, but in the space of seven days I am confident the Sibu electorate can turn around and hand a defeat to BN and (Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak)," Wong said after the nomination process.

Drawing first blood

Within minutes after nomination, Wong lost no time at launching a salvo at the state government, led by Barisan’s Abdul Taib Mahmud, saying that if elected, his first mission will be to raise the issue of corruption in the current Sarawak administration.

"During the tenure of (former premier) Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi), he tried to weed out corruption but how many 'fish' were from Sarawak? This must be addressed in Parliament," he said.

Independent candidate Narawi on the other hand spoke extensively of his disappointment over having to use a tree logo instead of his preferred choice, an umbrella.

Seemingly overwhelmed by the mob of reporters surrounding him at the nomination centre, the 60-year-old retired civil servant, however, admitted that a tree is good enough to signify his promise of sheltering the people.

siby by-election nomination day 080510 independent narawi haron "I was supposed to use the umbrella, but it was not on the EC's (Election Commission) list of approved logos,” said a somewhat disappointed Narawi ( right ).

When asked how he thinks he will fare in the polls, Narawi said he was betting on the nearly 20,000 bumiputera voters for support, as he expects the 30,000 Chinese votes to be split between Wong and Lau. He declined to say how much support he expects to garner.

"After we try and strive hard, we leave it to God's will," he said.

‘Too many issues’

Narawi said his campaign strategy will focus on house-to-house visits instead of organising ceramahs, as is expected of the main contesting parties.

"There are so many issues, too many issues that have been raised by both DAP and SUPP... the people are tired of it. I will go house to house, I won't use posters and the like because I was born in Sibu, grew up in Sibu so everyone knows me," he said.

NONE Narawi said he will work towards solving Native Customary Rights (NCR) land and resettlement issues, and problems related to business premises, should he win the contest.

BN candidate Lau ( left ) was the most media-shy of the trio, only speaking briefly with reporters before excusing himself to hit the campaign trail.

                                

He said he aims to gain support from across the board, hoping to increase his mandate from all races and age groups in Sibu, in particular the youth, whose support he acknowledges is important.

"I am a young man, I wish for their support. Let us together make Sibu better," he said.

When asked of his plans for Sibu, he simply said he hoped "for a better future."

The campaign period officially starts immediately after nomination and will continue until Saturday midnight. Polling begins on Sunday May 16.