Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), led by state Land Development Minister Dr James Masing, is likely to field a new face on a Barisan Nasional ticket in the Batang Ai by-election to be held within the next 60 days.

The seat fell vacant on Tuesday following the death of Sarawak Assistant Minister for Sports and Agriculture Dublin Unting Inggot, after he failed to recover from a coma he fell into nine months ago. He was laid to rest in the Batu Kitang Anglican Cemetery near Kuching yesterday.

douglas uggah embas A PRS leader who asked not to be identified, ruled out district officer Nelson Mujah Giri as the party’s choice. One of the reasons cited was because he is from Balingian and not a local, although he is presently serving the area as district officer of Lubok Antu and is closely related to Natural Resources and Environment Minister and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) senior vice-president Douglas Uggah Embas ( above ).

The party is said to be looking at two potential candidates - Peter Umek, the chief executive officer of a state government organisation and Desmond Sateng, a lecturer at Inti College. Both are from the area and are in their 40s. Another potential candidate, according to sources, is Musim Lamoh, an engineer with a state government department.

alfred "There is no way we are going to pick someone who is not the party's own preference," the PRS leader said, alluding to reports that Deputy Chief Minister and PBB deputy president (Pesaka wing) Alfred Jabu ( left ) and Uggah are keen to push for Nelson Mujah to contest the seat on a PRS ticket.

The same leader also said it is unlikely that the other Nelson, known as Naga Alam, an immigration officer appointed as private secretary to the late Unting in his state ministry, will be picked, even though he is a familiar face in Lubok Antu, especially after his boss collapsed from a stroke and fell into a coma.

According to Masing, the PRS supreme council will meet once the Election Commission has decided on nomination and polling dates.

nicholas bawin pkr candidate for batang ai state seat 270209 Meanwhile, talk is rife within Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which has established a strong foothold in many Dayak-majority constituencies, including Batang Ai, that the two favoured by the party leadership to contest are former Lubok Antu MP and businessman Jawah Gerang and PRS Batang Ai branch chairperson Nicholas Bawin ( above ).

Both personalities are well-known to the local people and either one is thought to be a formidable challenger to the BN.

Political tsunami in Sarawak too

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who also heads the state liaison committee, is expected to call a meeting after the Election Commission's announcement next week to discuss the list of potential candidates before a final decision is reached.

Both Jawah Gerang and Bawin have pledged to co-operate with each other, regardless of who is chosen to contest the seat.

Meanwhile, well-known Dayak blogger Joseph Tawie in his latest blog posting today said the message from PKR to the Ibans, who make up 95 percent of the electorate in Batang Ai, is likely to be, "Get back your NCR land, vote out Taib Mahmud".

dayak NCR land 220405 stop sign Taib Mahmud is the chief minister who has been largely blamed by many Dayaks for the loss of their rights to their ancestral land.

Hundreds of thousands of hectares of NCR land have been leased out to private individuals and companies for oil palm cultivation and other purposes throughout Sarawak. This has angered many Dayaks, especially Ibans. There are currently about 200 cases pending in the courts, brought mostly by the Dayaks, seeking their native customary rights to the land.

Tawie quoted one PRS supreme council member as saying: "What worries me is that some of our members may vote for the opposition or they may absent themselves from voting as they did in last year's parliamentary election, especially in the Lubok Antu and Sri Aman constituencies.

"Although in Batang Ai it is only a by-election, a PKR victory will be bad for us and may portend the coming of a political tsunami to the shores of Sarawak," the supreme council member added.