Sarawak BN buoyed by Pakatan bickering
March 27, 2011
SIBU, March 27 Lately, there has been an upbeat mood among Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) members as they are geared towards the state election in the middle of next month.The mood reflects the failure among the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties in the state to reach an amicable agreement on the seats they are supposed to contest in the April 16 poll.No doubt, it is tough for us, but from the feedback we received over the past few days, it looks more favourable to us. The people have begun talking about the failure of PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat), DAP and SNAP (Sarawak National Party) on the seat allocations, said SUPP publicity chief Daniel Ngieng.PR in Sarawak comprises PKR-DAP-PAS and the local SNAP but all of them have overlapping claims, with PKR wanting 52 seats, SNAP (40), DAP (18) and PAS (six), meaning a total of 116 seats, when the state has only 71.Ngieng said the failure has left voters pondering if PR was a viable option as compared to the current ruling coalition as the more exposed and educated urban voters would consider various points as the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership began to resolve more pending issues and implement more friendly and fairer policies.The people have greatly welcomed the prime ministers decision to award top SPM scorers with scholarships, regardless of their racial background. Apart from that, some long-standing issues related to the land have begun to be resolved, he said.Moreover, Ngieng said the Sarawak government managed to refute claims by the opposition on the automatic land renewal after the state land and survey department conducted an in-depth study and made the comparison on land premium in various states in Malaysia.Until now, the opposition has never dared to raise the issue again after we published the detailed rates which i! ndicated Sarawak land premium is still much cheaper as compared to that in the peninsular, even in states governed by the opposition.We managed to prove to them that there is no such automatic renewal as claimed by them. The land system we have is the same as that implemented by other states and other Commonwealth countries, he added.Moreover, Ngieng said that SUPP, since the defeat in the Sibu by-election in May last year, realised its weaknesses, particularly internally, and for the coming state election, it is better prepared to deal with it.Since the defeat, the Sibu branch has already begun to get things organised on the ground... for example, how our party members can be more effective to the people, he said.We are prepared in any way for their onslaught. Of course, we cannot deny there is some teething problems such as who are supposed to be candidates. This is not new as in every election, we tend to have such problems, he added.Opposition leaders do not rule out such squabbles, which have, to a certain extent, affected their image among the voters but are nevertheless confident they can still work out a solution to avoid multiple contests.We would expect our leader to have wisdom to resolve this. Public expectation should be top priority in order not to let the public down, said Sibu PKR chief George Chen.However, for DAP central committee member Jeff Ooi, the recent online report, alleging there was a plot involving SNAP and federal BN leaders, has badly damaged PR despite those mentioned in the report having denied such allegations.He said the report had raised some doubt on PR in the state as there was already a feeling of mistrust among some party members.This is not good for us. The party now has to prepare for the worst by concentrating on winnable seats. We dont see it going to be easy despite people saying we have good chances of wining more seats, he said.However, for some SUPP leaders such as its Youth chief, Sih Hua Tong, he does not want party members to be complacent by thinking they can t! ake adva ntage of the squabbles in PR. He said SUPPs existence did not rely on the weaknesses of the opposition.SUPP has been with the people over the years, since the partys formation. Its not due to the oppositions weaknesses. However, as any other political party, we are also not perfect but whats more important is we continue to serve people and fight for the people, he said when contacted. Bernama
SIBU, March 27 Lately, there has been an upbeat mood among Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) members as they are geared towards the state election in the middle of next month.The mood reflects the failure among the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties in the state to reach an amicable agreement on the seats they are supposed to contest in the April 16 poll.No doubt, it is tough for us, but from the feedback we received over the past few days, it looks more favourable to us. The people have begun talking about the failure of PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat), DAP and SNAP (Sarawak National Party) on the seat allocations, said SUPP publicity chief Daniel Ngieng.PR in Sarawak comprises PKR-DAP-PAS and the local SNAP but all of them have overlapping claims, with PKR wanting 52 seats, SNAP (40), DAP (18) and PAS (six), meaning a total of 116 seats, when the state has only 71.Ngieng said the failure has left voters pondering if PR was a viable option as compared to the current ruling coalition as the more exposed and educated urban voters would consider various points as the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership began to resolve more pending issues and implement more friendly and fairer policies.The people have greatly welcomed the prime ministers decision to award top SPM scorers with scholarships, regardless of their racial background. Apart from that, some long-standing issues related to the land have begun to be resolved, he said.Moreover, Ngieng said the Sarawak government managed to refute claims by the opposition on the automatic land renewal after the state land and survey department conducted an in-depth study and made the comparison on land premium in various states in Malaysia.Until now, the opposition has never dared to raise the issue again after we published the detailed rates which i! ndicated Sarawak land premium is still much cheaper as compared to that in the peninsular, even in states governed by the opposition.We managed to prove to them that there is no such automatic renewal as claimed by them. The land system we have is the same as that implemented by other states and other Commonwealth countries, he added.Moreover, Ngieng said that SUPP, since the defeat in the Sibu by-election in May last year, realised its weaknesses, particularly internally, and for the coming state election, it is better prepared to deal with it.Since the defeat, the Sibu branch has already begun to get things organised on the ground... for example, how our party members can be more effective to the people, he said.We are prepared in any way for their onslaught. Of course, we cannot deny there is some teething problems such as who are supposed to be candidates. This is not new as in every election, we tend to have such problems, he added.Opposition leaders do not rule out such squabbles, which have, to a certain extent, affected their image among the voters but are nevertheless confident they can still work out a solution to avoid multiple contests.We would expect our leader to have wisdom to resolve this. Public expectation should be top priority in order not to let the public down, said Sibu PKR chief George Chen.However, for DAP central committee member Jeff Ooi, the recent online report, alleging there was a plot involving SNAP and federal BN leaders, has badly damaged PR despite those mentioned in the report having denied such allegations.He said the report had raised some doubt on PR in the state as there was already a feeling of mistrust among some party members.This is not good for us. The party now has to prepare for the worst by concentrating on winnable seats. We dont see it going to be easy despite people saying we have good chances of wining more seats, he said.However, for some SUPP leaders such as its Youth chief, Sih Hua Tong, he does not want party members to be complacent by thinking they can t! ake adva ntage of the squabbles in PR. He said SUPPs existence did not rely on the weaknesses of the opposition.SUPP has been with the people over the years, since the partys formation. Its not due to the oppositions weaknesses. However, as any other political party, we are also not perfect but whats more important is we continue to serve people and fight for the people, he said when contacted. Bernama 
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