Najib is in tremor as Sarawakians have no confidence in his administration

PM’s presence shows Pakatan gaining ground, beams Anwar

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | April 10, 2011

However the opposition leader warns that BN will be splashing more money and election goodies soon as polling nears.

KUCHING: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s unprecedented presence in Sarawak may be desperate and is meant to “rejuvenate” Barisan Nasional’s “lackadaisical” campaign here, said Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim today.

His presence signals the failure of local BN leaders to muster support among voters as they grow more and more disillusioned with Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s government, added the former deputy prime minister.

Najib has joined in the Sarawak foray in a vigorous six-day campaigning trail, setting a precedent by having most of his Cabinet members jumping in the bandwagon to take on the heightened opposition onslaught.

Anwar said BN now has mobilised not only the state’s but the entire federal government’s machinery for the key state polls which will be advantageous to the ruling coalition.

“This is part of BN’s campaign to reassure support and they utilise the entire federal government’s resources and the entire ministries which shows the local leaders have failed.

“The presence of the prime minister and the deputy prime minister will of course assist and rejuvenate the lackadaisical campaign of BN in Sarawak,” he told a press conference here.

Response encouraging

Today is Anwar’s first day of campaigning in the predominantly Chinese and pro-opposition state capital after his enterprising visits in the other parts of the state, including the rural heartlands of the natives whose political leaning tend to be towards BN.

Najib, however, had denied the allegation and said it was a normal practice for him as the prime minister to hit the campaigning trail and meet the grassroots as he aims to serve voters.

The opposition has been riding on the growing anti-Taib sentiment and has been successful in the Chinese majority urban areas and to some extent, the Dayak dominated rural constituencies and Najib’s presence will only reinforce this perception, said Anwar.

He claimed response has been encouraging and Pakatan is making inroads in wooing the bumiputera votes albeit its inferior election machinery, a factor observers say is one of the pact’s major stumbling block to winning Sarawak.

However, Pakatan has set a more pragmatic target: deny BN its customary two-thirds majority in the 71-seated state assembly by aiming to wrest 24 seats although pundits believe only 15, of which 12 are Chinese majority, will fall to the bloc.

15 seats, Taib must resign

The target is enough to send a strong protest signal against Taib and perhaps force the Sarawak chief minister to step down immediately, the longest-serving in the country’s history, considering Pakatan had managed to win only seven seats in the 2006 state polls. Taib has promised to step down in the mid-term after this polls.

And in a wider context, this will also send a strong signal to the Najib administration that what it considers its “fixed deposit” can no longer deliver the votes and sounding out waning support towards the BN.

“Compared to the last elections, this one indicates strength on our part and is the most fiercely contested one… the potential is much better,” Anwar remarked.

The fight is not over, however, said the opposition leader and the campaign is expected to intensify. He claimed BN will be splashing more money and election goodies soon as polling nears.

He also claimed BN’s old-age tactic of harassment and intimidation remains widespread and the Elections Commission and police have so far failed to curb these practices.

Sarawakians will cast its votes and decide on the state’s future come April 16.