The winning streak of the BN in five by-elections in the Peninsula up to Sunday comes as a boost for the Sarawak BN ahead of the state election due by July but there is some concern over a number of seats.

"They (BN victories in the by-elections) definitely bring about a feel-good factor for us. They definitely motivate the party machinery here to work harder to achieve similar or even better results.

"We are hoping to continue the trend (winning streak) and do our best even though we are concerned about certain seats," said Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice-president Awang Tengah Ali Hassan.

azlan The BN retained the state seats of Kerdau (Pahang) and Merlimau (Melaka) with bigger majorities in the twin by-elections on Sunday, just as it had won the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat in Sabah and the Galas (Kelantan) and Tenang (Johor) state seats before this.

The winning streak seems to lend credence to the belief of BN supporters that the coalition is regaining support among the people following the political tsunami of the 2008 general election which cost it four states and the two-third majority in parliament.

With Sunday's victories, the BN has won eight of the 16 by-elections held since the general election in 2008. Its three other victories were in Bagan Pinang, Batang Ai and Hulu Selangor.

There is talk that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may call an early general election, which is not due until 2013, confident of a good showing by the BN following the consecutive by-election wins and if the Sarawak BN does well in the imminent state election.

Political tsunami started at 2006 state polls

Awang Tengah said that while the Sarawak BN was confident of retaining its two-third majority in the 71-seat state legislative assembly, there was concern over the support of the urban voters, mainly in seats contested by the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP).

azlan Nevertheless, he said, all the BN component parties have agreed to help SUPP to overcome the challenges it faced in its urban seats.

Sarawak-based political analysts point out that the BN's loss in the 16 May 2010 by-election in Sibu, the first held in urban Sarawak after the 2008 general election, indicated that the stand of the urban voters had not changed since 2006.    

"Urban voters will remain a thorny issue for the BN in Sarawak even though we do not expect any problem in the majority of the rural seats," said Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) senior lecturer Jeniri Amir.

Some political observers believe the political tsunami actually started at the 2006 Sarawak state election but political analysts interviewed said the situation was different in Sabah and Sarawak which remained the "fixed deposit" for the BN.

Having garnered increased Malay support of between five and six per cent and a marginal rise in non-Malay votes in the by-elections, will the BN secure similar support in the urban constituencies in Sarawak?

A political analyst with University College Sedaya International (UCSI), Ong Kian Ming, said the Kerdau and Merlimau by-elections involved different issues, and they were not urban constituencies.

"Not a national trend in Sarawak. What happens in the Peninsula does not really matter in Sarawak. In Sarawak, certain personalities are the bigger factor. Land issues or more specific local issues will play the role," he said.

'Urban Sarawak is totally different'

Another political analyst, Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said there were no local issues in Kerdau and Merlimau as compared to Sarawak where there were some local issues which he felt could affect the level of support for the BN.

"The results of the two by-elections showed that the Chinese have marginally returned to the BN. Moreover, there were no local issues and this is why the BN won with higher majorities.

"However, urban Sarawak is totally different as there are many local issues," he said.

NONE SUPP president George Chan Hong Nam (left in photo) said there was a better chance for the BN to regain some of the lost urban seats as long as there were efforts to counter the allegations raised by the opposition.

"The BN's victory in the two by-elections has shown how the efforts and energy should be focused on countering allegations raised by the opposition. We don't expect to be gentle with them this time round.

"If they go to the press, we will also go to the press. If they go to Facebook, we'll also go to Facebook to present our side of the story so that the people can make a comparison," he said.

He also said that SUPP had developed a new strategy which would be unveiled at the state election to counter all opposition propaganda.

SUPP fared the worst among the BN component parties in the 2006 state election, losing eight of the 19 seats it contested.  

- Bernama