Amid Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem's popularity, PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar warned that it would change nothing to vote for him in the upcoming state election.

She said Adenan's popularity is reminiscent of the time when former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over the reins of power from his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad – euphoria following a leadership change.

“We must be able to tell the difference what is the public face of democracy and the real behind-the-scenes face of Adenan Satem’s autocracy.

“It appears that a leopard never really changes its spots, it merely covers it up. And this is the leopard that the Sarawakians will be facing in the coming state elections.

“We are still facing the risk of monopoly of power in the state. A populist Adenan changes nothing: Native customary rights, good governance, transparency in administration, etc, could not materialise under the five decades rule of the BN,” she said in a statement today.

She insisted that Adenan's announcement of the proposed date for the Sarawak state election shows that BN has not changed, although Adenan has since clarified that the date is merely a suggestion and the final decision lies with the Election Commission.

Adenan enjoys a 74 percent approval rating, according to an opinion poll conducted by Merdeka Centre in April last year.

His popularity has been attributed to his promises to improve governance and eradicate corruption, and for speaking out for the state's interests on issues such as greater state autonomy.

'Leopard dancing to Opposition's tune'

However, Nurul Izzah said Adenan was merely reacting what the opposition has been advocating.

“This is the leopard dancing to the real tune and tone set by the opposition; democracy must be defended.

“We must never once let our guard down with the siren call of ‘give me five more years’ which will be proven as another false promise to bring real democratic change to Sarawak,” she said.

She urged that the opposition parties to set their differences aside, and stand united against BN, saying that this was what led to the inroads it made during the previous state election in 2011.

“If we want to advance, or even preserve our gains thus far, we must be committed to a united front.

We urge everyone to put aside their squabbles and showcase maturity to convince the Sarawak voters we are capable of replacing BN,” she said.