ANALYSIS The state's New Year's Eve celebration was a glitzy affair with Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem's face on every single poster visible.

A fireworks show ended the night accompanied by a hit song from the 80s - ‘The Final Countdown’ by the Swedish rock band, Europe.

It was raining cats and dogs before his arrival at the Tun Sallahuddin bridge for the New Year's countdown that also marked the end of road toll collection in the state.

Yet many Kuchingites flocked to the venue intent on catching a glimpse of Adenan, rather than the top billing for the event, popular singer Jamal Abdillah.

As expected, right after his address and prior to the countdown, he serenaded the thousand-strong crowd with his favourite song - Elvis Presley's ‘Can't Help Falling In Love’.

The local crowd went into a frenzy as the 71-year-old chief minister sang. And yes, he even ended the song on the right notes, with a falsetto.

Since helming the 'throne' as the state's chief executive two years ago, after taking over from his predecessor Abdul Taib Mahmud who held the post for the last 33 years, Adenan has been pressing all the right buttons with impeccable timing, and have garnered substantial support from Sarawakians.

In a survey conducted by Merdeka Centre last year, Adenan scored a whopping 74 percent approval rating on his performance as the state's fifth chief minister.

Indeed, it was the anti-Taib sentiment that saw most urban voters punishing the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) in the 2011 state polls, by taking away most of their seats and handing them to the DAP.

The Sarawak DAP secured 12 seats, leaving SUPP with two.

As smooth as his performance of Elvis' song, Adenan's has seemingly departed from Taib's past policies. Or has he?

Will he be able to charm the voters and win back lost seats at the coming state elections, expected in March? Or is Adenan still being overshadowed by Taib's legacy?

Adenan's 'winnable' face all over

At every function in Sarawak, Adenan is known to ditch most of his prepared speech and often addresses the crowd off the cuff.

He begins with "Oooooo...ha!" and "yo...yo" - those are among Adenan's catchphrases that struck a chord among his supporters.

Not in Bahasa Malaysia or English, Adenan speaks mostly in Bahasa Sarawak, the unofficial language among Sarawakians. An unconventional move, but it certainly turned him into an instant sensation at events and in the social media.

Most of his updates on Facebook are in Bahasa Sarawak and photos often depict him informally wearing sandals during his visits to the market, spending time with his grandchildren and having his Sarawak laksa at his favourite Kuching stall.

This portrayal worked very well in his favour and many netizens regard him as a humble yet assertive leader - a far departure from Taib's regal and authoritarian posture.

The New Year's Eve celebration, plastered with posters depicting his image, is itself a nod to Adenan' popularity, which the Sarawak BN is riding on in their bid to win the bulk of the 82 seats to be contested in the upcoming election.

Supporters came carrying banners bearing words such as, "Hidup CM Adenan Satem" (Long Live CM Adenan Satem), "Thank You CM", "We Love CM" and "Tok Denan - The Best", which was quite unusual but not surprising with Adenan’s swelling popularity thus far.

The absence of images of other Sarawak BN leaders at the event shows that Adenan is to be the mainstay of the ruling coalition’s electoral campaign as it aims for another landslide victory in the coming state polls, which sources said will most likely be held on March 19, during the mid-term school holidays.

Groundwork began early

Indeed, the state BN machinery has begun its groundwork as early as last year when the chief minister's office distributed a small leaflet, ‘45 Principles and Actions’, sighted by Malaysiakini during the Lan Berambeh Anak Sarawak event in October 2015 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).

The event saw thousands of young Sarawakians turned up, especially for the packed townhall session where Adenan took the stage to address the crowd of professionals and students in Peninsular Malaysia about his policies and plans for the state.

The leaflet lists all the promises, principles and policies of his administration, highlighting various issues from oil royalty, education, logging, hydroelectric dams, forest management and state government autonomy.

Indeed, Adenan has been consistently mentioning all these in most of his functions and events.

"I have kept my word, In the polls three months from now , you will keep your word to me. You will fulfil your promise to give me five more years," Adenan said this during the New Year's Eve address.

This was perhaps a pre-emptive move by Adenan, taking his opponents by surprise as he 'hijacked' most of the opposition's manifesto. It will be an uphill task for the opposition parties to take on BN in March in the light of this strategem.

Looking from another perspective, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) party elections which was postponed last year and brought forward to this year, hints at a possible change of guard within the largest ruling party in the state.

Some observers suggested that Adenan may be merely a seat warmer, though he rubbished such comments, but he did mention to English daily The Star that seven years as the chief minister is long enough for him, and his next term will be his last.

Adenan and Sarawak BN will likely to be in control of the state for the next five years, though what is uncertain is whether he has the 'resounding' support that would guarantee a landslide victory.

But Adenan's future as chief minister aside, the bigger question is, who will be replacing him when and if he steps down? For without him and his popular image, Sarawak BN may be hard pressed to find another poster boy to counter the anti-Taib stigma.

Adenan Satem - "Can't Help Falling In Love With You"

Sarawak chief minister Adenan Satem serenaded the crowd and dedicated the song to his wife during the state New Year's Eve celebration in Kuching. The event also marked the final toll bridge at the Tun Salahuddin Bridge to be abolished and Adenan also hinted the upcoming state election in March. Read more here: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/325122

Posted by Malaysiakini on Friday, 1 January 2016

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