Perak,Kedah and Now Sarawak DUN Seats

“B” seems to be the appropriate word for the upcoming by- elections be it in Perak (Bukit Gantang) ,Kedah(Bukit Selambau) and now Sarawak (Batang Ai)

There has been speculations on who the candidates will be in the above seats. Obviously there will be jostling amongst the parties and intense lobbying that their candidates will be the most WINNABLE ONE.  

The groundswell in Sarawak especially with PKR making waves with many ex-PRS members aligned to Larry Sng joining PKR. The reasons being the most obvious that they have lost confidence in PRS and also seeing their powers in PRS taken away from them being councillors and directors who were seen and known to be aligned to Larry.   

It must also be noted that after coming off a bitter internal PRS struggle and seeing that their struggles with Larry did not bear the full fruition. They chose otherwise to go back to PRS and instead jump on the bandwagon of the PKR vehicle which is seen as the alternative. So PKR will be in a direct tussle with PRS on who has the right to represent the 7997 constituents of N29 Batang Ai.

Wow.! Is it true that Nicholas Bawin has joined PRS..? My ears cannot be failing me as the wax has been cleaned up. No,no,no it seems TV3 has made a mistake at 8.06pm when one of the announcers mentioned that Nicholas Bawin is with PRS and not PKR.

Or could have Nicholas irked the HIDDEN HANDS of the powers who have a say in the financial activities and movement of PKR Sarawak. Or could they be a more WINNABLE CANDIDATE besides Bawin.? This extract from the Malaysiakini correspondent is an interesting read and it could have been written to “appease certain power brokers’ in PKR Sarawak.

PKR state assemblyperson Gabriel Adit, who won the Ngemah state seat in 2006 as an Independent, told Malaysiakini: “PKR is strong and there is growing grassroots support for the party.”

“We are looking for a winnable candidate,” he said, adding that Bawin is among the frontrunners.Bawin is former president of the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) as well as former vice-chairperson of the Majlis Adat Istiadat, a state government agency.

Another name mentioned as a likely candidate is popular local Iban politician Jawah Gerang, the former Lubok Antu MP who first won the parliamentary seat on a PBDS ticket.

A grassroot PKR member has this to say,” Both the PKR mentioned candidates have their strengths and weaknesses. But the weaknesses can be overcome as this is a new vehicle flying the FLAG OF PKR in this rural remote constituency.

Nicholas was defeated twice in his attempts for a seat while Jawah has a flawless record of 5 terms as MP and twice unopposed. Could Bawin be given the chance as a Third Time(3) lucky candidate or could Jawah be given a passport for the 6th Time.? If its up to the member he would have to pick one who has the record but in this case its up to the leaders in PKR to choose. 

As for the BN candidate according to our sources the frontrunners seems to be between former immigration officer Naga Alam or senior civil servant Nelson Mujah Giri, currently the district officer of Lubok Antu.
Will this be the level playing field for these two candidates? Or could BN once again HELICOPTER another new face/skeleton free candidate in order not to incur the wrath of supporters of both these two wannabe candidates.

Potentially there will be troubles ahead if PRS is once again deprived of her PREFERRED candidate. Naga has been a serving P.A. for the late YB Dublin for the last ten years and he is a well known figure amongst the PRS faithful and constituents in Lubok Antu area. 

Mujah is by virtue a heavyweight too being the brother of senior Federal Minister Douglas Uggah who is also a senior PBB Vice President. If he is chosen he will be asked to join PRS who is the party which has the rightful claim to the seat.

Both Pakatan and BN will have to make the right choice to wrestle or retain the seat of N29 Batang Ai. It seems that and it is confirmed though audie61 was uncertain earlier on  that a by-election in Batang Ai is “compulsory” because the term of the present assembly has not completed even three years.

We say as always,” Who will have the EARS,the Potential and the Prerequisites to be chosen as Candidates in the  3 “B”s? Where will the Hammer fall? Who will be manouvering to see who FITS the Bill of the WINNABLE Candidate? Who will fit the final JIGSAW in their quest to be given the chance to run for Office?

 

In Memory of the late YB Datuk Dublin

 PRS president Datuk Seri Dr James Masing praised Unting as a dedicated assemblyman who was committed to improving the socio-economic standard of his constituency and the state as a whole.

“He is a person who does not hold any grudges or ill feeling against anybody as far as I know.

* The Church service will be held on Thursday Morning the 26th of February 2009 at St.Thomas’s Cathedral Kuching, Sarawak.

 

Hot..”N29 Batang Ai By-Elections..Majority Only 806..??”

Even before the funeral arrangements of Datuk Dublin Unting have been finalised word has it on the ground in Sarawak that PKR is already looking at this seat with enthusiasm. Could it be called also on April 7th with nomination on March 29th.?

The phones and sms has been very hot this morning upon hearing the demise of  Sarawak Assistant Minister for Sports and Agriculture Dublin Unting at 1.26am.

In the last state elections the late Dublin Unting polled 3,295 votes against Bawin’s 2,489, with a majority of 806. Today Nicholas Bawin the party’s state vice-chairperson will be the most likely candidate for PKR according to our informed sources if the EC decides to call for a by-elections.

A former PRS Vice President (aligned to Larry Sng) mentioned that it will be a real tests for BN (Parti Rakyat Sarawak ) as it will not only be a fight between Pakatan-BN but also it will see the battle of the old wounds within the PRS camps.

Many of those aligned to YB Larry Sng has since joined PKR and they will present a big obstacle and a seemingly unwanted headache to BN PRS. The majority is only a slim 806 but one has to understand that the constituency has only a total of 7997 voters. Both sides of the political divide will have to work extra hard to impress upon the majority Iban voters of this remote rural constituency N29. 

This extracted from Malaysiakini internet portal which will give a clearer picture on where the Election Commission stands. As the next state election will not be due until May 2011, the Election Commission could be calling a by-election in the next 60 days in Batang Air.

Under the election laws, the EC may leave the seat vacant should a state election is due within 18 months. But in the case of Batang Air, it will be more than two years before the current term of the state assembly expires.

Many political analysts sees this seat as a yardstick on whether the PKR or Pakatan machinery and influx in membership drive has created inroads for the coalition. 

What is important is to see whether the SARAWAK STATE DAP will be in numbers to assist their coalition partners..? Will they be there? It remains to be seen as the clouds are still GREY in this area of cooperation and partnership.

BN will surely called upon PBB,SUPP and SPDP to assist in the impending by elections of N29.

We say as always,” The numbers which attended PKR dinners statewide cannot be a gauge of what is coming in N29 Batang Ai. PKR will need to work doubly hard to wrestle this seat from BN. Nothing is impossible but for BN everything boils down to the candidate PRS  puts up. 

YB Datuk Dublin Unting Passes Away This Morning at 1 am

On behalf of audie61 we would like to extend our deepest sympathy to the family of the late YB Datuk Dublin Unting Sarawak’s Assistant Minister of Youth and sports and assemblyman for N29 Batang Ai.

The late YB Dublin was also a Vice President of Parti Rakyat Sarawak and we mourn his passing with sadness. Funeral arrangements are being arranged at the time of reporting.

Dublin is survived by wife, Datin Froline Moriah Demies, and three children.

May his soul rests in Peace.

“Trust Tun M…Makes sense..witty..!!”

When Tun M’s latest  article first appeared in the internet portal we down loaded and also printed a few copies. One of the notable remarks especially this from a former District officer,” Tun M is really worried that Najib is not cut out to be the PM and he has too many skeletons to coverup and he is also falling on bended knees to PM Abdullah.

Could this just be  a perfect foil by Abdullah on Najib.? Also as long as he doesn’t attack PKR thats good enough for me says the former D.O.  

The wittyness shown by Grand Old man of Malaysian politics  especially in the Perak affair must have made many political analysts squirming with excitement and punching the air in delight,”Yea,that’s it .”

 Even a political secretary said,”Tun M is expecting some fireworks coming and he unleashes another salvo to tell Abdullah not to forget to look over his shoulders that he(Tun M) is still around.He is watching and will not let his guard down on his attacks at Abdullah.

This is from his latest blog which the internet portal extracted,”Dr Mahathir poured scorn on PM Abdullah’s suggestion for Zambry to lodge a police report against Speaker V Sivakumar over the suspension of the Perak MB and his entire state executive council.

“If the decision of the Speaker can be considered a crime, then what will happen when the Parliamentary Speaker suspends opposition members for whatever reasons?

“And this happens frequently. Will opposition members lodge police reports? If they can, then can we consider the police to have powers over the Parliamentary Speaker?”

The former PM also commented on Zambry’s statement that he would attend the state assembly sitting despite the suspension.He said that under the legislature’s standing orders, the Speaker can direct officers of the assembly to remove Zambry.

“Also, where will Zambry sit? What if Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin sits in the mentri besar’s chair? Will the Speaker ask his officers to force Nizar to vacate the chair?“Let us all as citizens watch what happens next.”

We say as always,”In his little corner of his room Tun M must be rubbing his hands together for saying the RIGHT THING which many agree with him for ONCE.Or is it..? Usually one would say,enough Tun you had your DAY but today none of those words were heard and uttered.