It seems that 99.51 percent of Iban voters in the 9731 Baleh Constituency will see a challenge forthcoming during the next State elections. In the last state elections Dr.Masing (President of Party Rakyat Sarawak) was challenged by Lucius Jimbun using the SNAP symbol but he truomphed quite easily.
The likes of strong man and party Presidents Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon( news flash:- A big surprise! Penang State Chief Minister has LOST!) and Sammy Vellu were soundly defeated in the 308 elections and James will be very wary of the threat that will be posed this time round from PKR. The divisional chief of PKR Ulu Rejang Frankie Bendindang is speculated to give James a “good fight” and touted to be the candidate favoured by PKR.
However the voters of Baleh thinks otherwise according to a survey conducted by Natasha and Joey of audie61 and team. The results indicate that the voters are in favour of another candidate who gave the BN a lot of sleepless nights in the last 308 elections.It was found out that he losts the lasts parliamentary seat as BN had the full machinery and also only the ENEMY FROM WITHIN his own camp derailed his path to Parliament. He was an independant candidate then but if he is a PKR candidate surely Baleh will be an EXPLOSIVE SEAT.
According to a veteran voter and a local from Baleh in 1983 when James stepped in the world of politics he brought GOOD and BIG Hopes for the Ibans in Baleh. Dr.James is afterall a doctor of Philosophy and he graduated from the Australian National University Canberra. He also served as a senior research officer with SESCO(Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation) He has all the credentials to be helping and assisting all his fellow Ibans in the area.
Has he done sufficiently enough after two and half decades as Assemblyman for the area? He has all the facilities within his reach and if he has done enough there would not be any more rumblings and disgruntled Ibans would they? This is what James envisage in his vision for the 2006 elections. If he is relected he will bring more infrastructure development and land development for large scale farming and plantations in Baleh.
He will ensure all schools in the area are supplied by electricity as part of the plan to equip the schools with the necessary infrastructure and facilities to facilitate the promotion of the information and communications technology.As for roads,James said the first phase of the proposed 37 Km Kapit-Nanga Mujong-Baleh-Nanga Gat Road would be completed by 2007 while the second phase was due for completion by 2010.
Baleh being one of the remotest and biggest rural state constituencies James has done sufficently enough to stay in power for the last two and half decades but they are still many oppostion voices harping on his failures to deliver as promised. WHAT WAS PROMISED..?? WAS IT THE CHIEF MINISTERS SEAT.Hmmm.??
This is the very question now being asked in Baleh,’What other hopes has James to deliver to the Ibans in Baleh.?” Will James be able to withstand the next challenge? Will they be tears flowing or champagne to reach his third decade? This audie61 picked up from an internet blog,”I suspect that in the subconscious psyche of many Sarawakians, they do not believe that opposition parties can defeat the BN in the state general election.
Will PKR stop the champagne flow for James as he looks forward to three decades of being a State Assemblyman or will this be a hurdle too far for James? We shall monitor N56 with interests and for now we shall leave it to the people of Baleh to see who is mosts suited to represent them in the State legislative Assembly.
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