The caretaker Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Adenan Satem has said that he is confident that the Sarawak Barisan Nasional will win at least 70 out of the 82 seats in the 11th Sarawak State Election on May 7.
lf this is the case, how can Adenan doubt that his position as Sarawak Chief Minister is totally secure and completely unshakeable?
This is the ninth Sarawak state general elections contested by Sarawak DAP since it was established 38 years ago in 1978.
For 17 long years, DAP Sarawak struggled in five Sarawak state general elections to “break the egg” and make the breakthrough to get one Sarawak State Assemblyman elected into the Sarawak State Assembly.
This was achieved in the seventh Sarawak state general election in 1996 when for the first time, DAP was represented in the Sarawak state assembly – by three DAP Assemblymen.
In the eighth Sarawak state general election in 2001, our Sarawak State Assembly representation was slashed to one, and it was only in the ninth Sarawak general election in 2006, DAP created the second historic breakthrough of winning six DAP Assembly representatives, leading to the 12 Sarawak Assemblymen and women won by the DAP in the 10th Sarawak state general election in 2011.
Now, in the 11th Sarawak state general election on May 7, 2016, can Sarawak DAP continue to “write history, create miracle” with the double objective to defend the 12 seats won five years ago as well as to achieve a new breakthrough by winning a few of the Dayak-dominated seats in the 31 constituencies contested by the DAP.
On Nomination Day on 25th April, I spent my day in Tasik Biru; on 26th April I was in Mambong; on 27th April in Serian where there are two seats, Bukit Semuja and Keduk; on 28th April in Simanggang and last night, I spent my night at the Rh Unjar longhouse in Pakan – an itinerary which bespeaks of our determination to achieve a new breakthrough in Sarawak and Malaysian politics to demonstrate that it is not just Kuching, Sibu, Sarikei, Bintangor, Bintulu and Miri who want political change and meaningful development, but vast areas outside the townships as well.
This is why Sarawak DAP has fielded 31 candidates – 14 Chinese, 16 Dayak (four Bidayuh, nine Iban and three Orang Ulu) and one Malay-Melanau.
If Sarawak DAP succeeds in its mission in the present Sarawak state general election to defend its Assembly seats in Kuching, Sibu, Sarikei, Bintangor, Bintulu and Miri and make a breakthrough to win a few seats in Tasik Biru, Mambang, Serian, Simanggang, Pakan, Mulu and Murum, then the stage will be set for a titanic battle in the 12th Sarawak state general election in five years’ time in 2021.
This is because the Sarawak DAP will then be engaged in the great challenge in the fourth decade of its history in Sarawak to prepare to capture state power and the Sarawak State Government in the 12th Sarawak State General Election in 2021, for DAP would have succeeded in demonstrating that it has the support from all ethnic groups and all parts of Sarawak.
All this will depend on the Sarawak DAP’s results in the May 7 polls, as Adenan and the Sarawak Barisan Nasional are doing their utmost to block the DAP from such new historic breakthroughs and even to win back some of the DAP seats won five years ago, particularly the Repok and Meradoing state seats.
It would be a major setback if the DAP makes a breakthrough in the rural areas but suffers setback in the urban areas, by losing several of the 12 State Assembly seats won five years ago.
Sarawak DAP is facing the four-prong attack of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional election offensive, viz:
1. The Adenan effect.
2. The Najib effect.
3. Politics of Money.
4. Politics of Fear and Intimidation.
These are powerful strategies and some of 13 seats carved out of the 12 State Assembly seats won by the DAP five years ago are in the “danger list”, as Adenan and Sarawak Barisan Nasional is staging a herculean battle using these four prongs of attacks to win back the seats from the DAP.
DAP supporters and voters must urgently mobilise and support Sarawak DAP so that it could work on the Five Year Plan after the May 7 Polling Day to aim, together with like-minded Sarawakians, for Sarawak State power and government in the 12th Sarawak State General Election in 2021.
(Speech at the DAP Sarawak state general election ceramah at Sarikei on Saturday, 30th April 2016 at 9.30 pm)