A visitor to Sibu right now would be forgiven for not noticing that there is a by-election around the corner.

NONE Far removed from the by-election fever that Peninsular Malaysia has seen over the past two years, culminating in the ugly battle for Hulu Selangor last month, the local Sibu folk are content meandering at their own pace amidst the sudden explosion of posters and makeshift billboards in their usually quiet town.

Since the beginning of the official campaigning period yesterday, only a small percentage of curious locals have made it to some of the ceramah, out of an electorate numbering 54,695 voters.

Even the arrivals of big guns Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim last night and Prime Minister Najib Razak last weekend hardly registered a blip on their radars.

Location, location, location

Geographic location seems to play a role. DAP leaders reported fairly good turnout at the ceramahs organised in or close to town, citing a rough turnout of 1,000 people at ceramahs in the Chinese-majority areas of Rajang Park and Market Road last night.

In comparison, less than 100 turned up for their ceramah at Taman Indah along Jalan Teku, a semi-rural area with a sizeable Iban community, just a few kilometres out of town.                

And response to the ceramahs seems to mirror its turnout.

sibu by election 080510 anwar ibrahim 2 For example Anwar ( right ), who spoke at all three ceramahs, received reasonably energetic response at the two packed venues. His reception at Taman Indah however was at best tepid.

The locals have also indicated that regardless of party, organise anything after 10pm and you’re on your own.

A local journalist explained that attending political rallies, ceramahs or even social events that go on late into the night is simply not standard practice in Sibu.

“People here sleep early, and wake up early. They are not interested in anything that will keep them out of the house after 10pm,” he said.

Talk jobs, not submarines

DAP is also learning that selling a message to the local electorate is no easy task.

A grassroots DAP leader on the campaign trail, who declined to be named, admitted that political capital is scarce for the speakers, particularly those from the Peninsular, unless they are able to link whatever they say to local problems.

sibu by election 080510 dap ceramah crowds “People want the chronic flood problem to be solved, they want more business and job opportunities… they are not bothered about Scorpene submarines or missing jet engines because they don’t see how that’s related to their daily lives.”

“We need to campaign on national issues, but it has to tie in with the local issues, or else it will be a very tough sell,” he said.

And even with the mild success of the ceramahs raising raising nearly RM10,000 for their campaign accounts last night, DAP’s Sibu by-election campaign manager Chong Chieng Jen remains cautious of their progress.

“The turnout cannot be used as a benchmark for support, as there are other factors,” he said, attributing the reasonable turnout to the fact that it was a weekend, stressing that voting trends may shift during polling.

History tells us that the Sibu electorate has a potentially dormant rebellious streak at the ballot box. It was evident in 1982 when DAP’s Ling Sie Ming ousted eventual SUPP president Wong Soon Kai by a 141-vote majority.

It served a valuable lesson that the Sibuan’s outwardly docile demeanor when it comes to politics does not indicate apathy, and this makes any prediction of the outcome on Sunday May 16 nearly impossible.

As the saying goes, still waters run deep.