by Peter Boon, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on February 23, 2012, Thursday
SIBU: Barisan Nasional (BN) is confident of winning all the 25 Bumiputera seats in Sarawak, and, may even retain two or three predominantly Chinese seats despite what the soothsayers have predicted.
PBB vice-president Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman said such a big win was important to ensure that the state’s reputation as BN’s “fixed deposit” remained intact.
He said he was unfazed by the opposition moving into rural areas, saying that the last state election witnessed lukewarm response from the Bumiputera community towards the DAP in particular, and the opposition in general.
“We (BN) are confident of winning all the Bumiputera seats this coming parliamentary election, and may win two or three Chinese seats. The prime minister has regarded Sarawak as the fixed deposit for BN, and we want to keep it that way.
“The most important thing for this coming parliamentary election is that we must win all the seats, and we know the opposition is working hard.
“We are confident of delivering a good win for BN in Sarawak,” Daud, who is also Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Islamic Affairs), told The Borneo Post when met yesterday.
Asked if BN could achieve a bigger majority in the 13th general election, Daud replied: “We are confident of delivering a good win, but for the majority, we leave it to the electorates. If the last state election is anything to go by, there is an increased majority in Malay areas.”
Early this month, the DAP was reported in the media as eyeing at least 12 of the 31 parliamentary seats in the state.
State DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen reportedly said the party would make a historic move by getting half of their candidates from the Dayak community.
To this, Daud said: “In a democratic country, the opposition are free to field their candidates anywhere. Like the DAP, they think they have solid support in Chinese areas, true or not, we leave it to the Chinese community to decide.
“And now, they (DAP) feel that it is time for them to go rural as well.”
DAP reckoned that without moving into the rural areas, they would not have a chance to topple the government.
“I mean this politics is up to them, but if you look at the last state election, response from Bumiputera voters towards the DAP and the opposition as a whole was lukewarm.”
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