Wanita Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) will move as a team with other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties during the Balingian state by-election, its deputy chairperson Fatimah Abdullah said.

She said Wanita PBB and the women’s wings from other BN component parties would go to the ground to campaign to ensure victory for the BN candidate.

Fatimah ( right ), who is Welfare, Women and Community Development Minister, said Wanita BN leader Shahrizat Abdul Jalil would be in Balingian on nomination day to give moral support to the BN candidate and campaign machinery.

“After that, we will continue with the campaign and will move as a BN team,” she told Bernama .

On the BN candidate for the Balingian by-election, Fatimah said it had been agreed that the person would be a Christian Melanau.

“The aim is to get the participation of the Christian community in the constituency, so that they will not feel left out, but in choosing a candidate, several criteria have to be considered because our target is to win big for BN,” she added.

She said the criteria included that the person is liked by the local community and the most important, be a winnable candidate.

So far, no announcement has been made on the person to be fielded as BN candidate for the Balingian state seat which was vacated by former chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud following his appointment as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak on March 1.

Taib had been Balingian state assemblyperson since 2001.

However, a few names have been mentioned, like former federal minister Effendi Norwawi; Abdul Taib’s son, Mahmud Abu Bekir; former Sarawak assistant minister Wahab Dollah and former Lambir assemblyperson Aidan Wing.

Others include Balingian PBB branch vice-chairperson Akit Sebli, Perlis mufti Juanda Jaya, Sarawak Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) Sulaiman Husaini, who is from Kampung Penipah, Mukah and an engineer from Kampung Tellian, Mukah.

Meanwhile, Sarawak PKR chairperson Baru Bian said the party had identified two potential candidates, both lawyers, and in their 30s.

Chief Minister Adenan Satem, who is also PBB president, told a media conference recently that he had received a few names, but would discuss with senior PBB and BN leaders to decide on the most suitable candidate.

Based on the 2011 electoral roll, Balingian has 11,792 voters, comprising Malay-Melanau (69 percent), Iban (19 percent) and Chinese (12 percent).

- Bernama