SIBU: National issues will be Pakatan Rakyat’s main ammunition against Barisan Nasional during the by-election, said Sarawak DAP chairman Wong Ho Leng. “We need to remind the Sibu electorate that this is more than just a by-election.
“A victory for Barisan will mean they are getting closer to the two-third majority in Parliament while a DAP victory could mark the beginning of change in Sarawak,” said Wong, who is the DAP candidate in the polls on May 16.
Wong said Barisan had governed the country for over 50 years and its administration had often disappointed the people.
He also took pot shots at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
He listed the overthrow of the Pakatan Perak government, Teoh Beng Hock’s tragic death, the missing jet engines and the RM362.5bil national deficit as among those which his campaign sought to highlight.
On the state front, Wong said he would expose state government projects that were not awarded through an open tender system.
“This sort of preferential treatment has not only deprived the people of Sarawak of the state’s economic benefits but has also caused a massive ‘brain drain’, whereby many bright Sarawakians have left the state to work elsewhere,” Wong told reporters after submitting his nomination papers at the Sibu Civic Centre.
DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng, meanwhile, said according to figures derived from a source in the coalition, Barisan could win by 4,000 votes, some 500 more than in the 2008 general election.
“We are putting our chances at 40 per cent.
“But despite the odds against us, we will go all out to convince the voters to support us at during the campaigning period,’ he said.
Sarawak DAP deputy chairman Chiew Chiu Sing also believed the mentality of the Dayak community has changed and they want more than just simple physical development.
“The community now prefers long-term benefits.
“Employment is important and they are also concerned with inflation,” said Chiew, who had been tasked by the party to penetrate Dayak majority areas.
The Kidurong assemblyman speaks fluent Iban.
He added that the community was happy with the formation of Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat.
“This gives them a new political perspective,” he said.
Chew said the educated Dayaks were more exposed to the new media and therefore, more critical and discerning of government administration and policies.-Thstaronline
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