The Batang Ai by-election showed us that change will not come easily, especially in Sarawak and Sabah. Still, Batang Ai voters had the last laugh when they managed to squeeze out RM70 million from the BN during the campaign there, as DS observes.
My trip to Batang Ai was an eventful one. The battle for this state seat sparked an invasion on Lubok Antu, a small rural town unprepared to receive some 2,000 vehicles and about 8,000 people. I stayed in a longhouse along with three friends.
Access to Lubok Antu in Batang Ai was closely monitored and Police and FRU personnel seemed to outnumber party supporters.
While at a padang during a ceramah by the contesting parties, I was close to an incident where the police confiscated Pas flags. After vehement protest from Sarawak PKR leader Dominique Ng, they were returned. Both Ng and Pas rep Dr Hatta Ali rallied supporters to beef up their spirits after the police intimidation.
But on the whole, many supporters had a field day during the campaign. Unhampered and unhindered, they were the usual rowdy boisterous crowds.
I took some snapshots of the journey to Batang Ai at the break of dawn. The access road to Lubok Antu was terribly congested.
A curious object was seen on the ground in an open area behind the stadium in Lubok Antu: a powerful unmarked satellite communications hardware, Advent, manned by the military.
Was it a coincidence that mobile communications were frequently jammed?
For their part, the BN was extremely serious about the event. So serious that their campaigners used the latest cameras, walkie-talkies, satellite television, touch-screen phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) to get their message across.
The Opposition would have surely taken note that the BN meant business in this by-election.
I couldn’t help thinking that if the by-election had been held in June around the time of the Gawai celebrations, the atmosphere would have been even more festive as more folks from the peninsula would have come over and taken the opportunity to buy local handicrafts and sample the delicacies.
Among the huge range of Dayak delicacies are kuih jala, bamboo chicken and serang semut. Careful about the bamboo chicken. Ask for “manok pansoh” or else you could get end up with iguana on your plate! To wash it down at the end of the meal, tuak and arak are served. Handle with care: it is not for the uninitiated and the arak is potent. Or just watch like I did.
Generosity is good but in this case, you might just end up with a different kind of spirit!
All I told the longhouse folks, let’s work, hope, and pray, come Gawai in June, though life may be difficult due to the global recession, there will be reason to celebrate in whatever manner suitable the success of “change” in Batang Ai.
A feverish campaign
Posters were everywhere - even in the river! Brighten up the Great “Ai” a bit… batang or bukit or whatever! I returned to the peninsula a day and a half before polling day. I was told that closer to polling day, the Dayak campaigners went all out and the mood was even more feverish and partisan.
One of the recurrent themes in the opposition campaign was the privatisation of the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (Sesco) in 2005 and the control of the Batang Ai Hydro Dam and its assets and revenue stream. What benefits have the Batang Ai people derived from this? How much have their lives really changed - when there are villages without electricity? Why is
the emigration from rural communities still heavy? Are there enough jobs?
What happened to food farming? Where has the craftsmanship of the Ibans gone to? Batang Ai residents and villagers knew the answers. The voters knew.
For his critics, the development Taib has boasted about is all about enriching his cronies. What is the use of telecommunications towers for the Batang Ai people when they do not have much support in marketing their farm products outside the area?
At one ceramah, the PKR candidate Jawah Garang said of the BN’s three new telco tower projects: “Infrastructure also not okay, but get three telco towers, haha. Accept it and use it to communicate with PKR and not BN.”
How did the candidates approach the voters? Malcolm, the BN candidate sounded highly strung though vocal and bold in his speeches (”I WILL do it!) in contrast to Jawah, who appeared softer in his speeches (”We will try…”).
If Taib was offering goodies to the voters, that was well and good - except it was being done during a by-election campaign, which violated election ethics. The voters should have received these goodies over the last 30 years. They were entitled to them. This is the crux of the matter - they don ‘t have to vote people like this BN calun to get such goodies, when they are
actually entitled to them!
The BN was definitely serious in making sure the seat was retained at all costs. Thus, a large number of federal and state-level political bigwigs converged on Batang Ai and numerous promises and ‘goodies’ were dished out, undoubtedly to ‘fish’ for votes. The BN win here has boosted the coalition’s morale going into the next state election, due by 2011. A defeat here would have been a slap in the face for the state BN leadership, particularly its
Dayak leaders.
The PKR, on the other hand, wanted to capture the seat as a foundation for the bigger task of capturing the state in the next election. Hence, the vigorous efforts by its leaders at both state and federal levels in canvassing for its candidate, going against the might of the BN.
Local issues
For the Batang Ai by-election, local issues were prominent - issues such as NCR land, lack or absence of infrastructure, poor power supply (despite the presence of the Batang Ai Dam), and the overall neglect of the area. Many promises were made - but the big question is will they be fulfilled - or forgotten once the election is over like in the past?
It is not necessary to expand further on the problems and issues - because these are already known. And there isn’t a need to comment on BN’s typical response (”akan buat, jangan risau” - “tapi undilah BN sekarang, dapat lagi banyak pembangunan”).
But I asked some Dayaks a few questions like do they want to continue to suffer and be left behind? Do they want to be further ‘marginalised’? Do they want to be further ‘condemned?
Their replies varied. One of the longhouse residents said, “We are happy with our humble lifestyles here whilst earning an honest living; we only need electricity; our land and water - the BN is working on this.”
I replied that it was only during the election campaign that the BN was promising the sky but what about before and after the last election; many of the promises remained unfulfilled.
“It would be worse (under PKR - which was understandable unless Pakatan took over the Sarawak state government),” he mused.
I asked myself, how are the people here going to vote for change if they can ‘t make a sacrifice and start with Batang Ai. They should be fighting against the abuse of power by the BN and struggling for their rights (if Dayaks are to be counted, on equal terms, as Malaysians at all instead of mere ‘bangsa lain-lain’). They need to oust Dayak leaders who fail to protect and care for their own community.
For the people of Batang Ai, now was their time and opportunity to show who’s the master.
I asked a Dayak about his view of Dayakism and of being a Dayak: “What role will it play in modern day Sarawak?”
“Honestly, I would not be able to answer that,” he replied. “For me I am more of a Sarawakian first and the rest comes after that. Why not a Malaysia for all? Will such a Malaysia and Dayakism be able to meet eye to eye? I have to see the BN’s promises on unity thoroughly explained first. It will take time to assimilate, amalgamate and accustomise the concept when one is still arguing that Malaysia is 51 years old versus Sarawak’s 45 years in
Malaysia.”
As Jawah Garang said in one of his ceramahs, “My maths may be bad but when a teacher tells you that 2009 minus 1963 equals 52 years old - it’s like reinventing history.” The crowd erupted with laughter.
Astute voters
When I asked one veteran during a campaign whether she had decided which party to vote for, she replied “udah” (sudah) with a coy smile. Of course I did not ask her who she was voting for as that’s a secret. Some quarters believe that elderly voters have no place in the democratic system. But a vote is a vote and it was heart warming to see the elderly folks participate and to know they remain a significant part of what democracy means. Some try to degrade them as mere tools for certain parties. But look at it this way: both sides have their elderly voters and one cannot label one side as being wiser than the other.
My two days in Lubok Antu showed me that voters here are smarter than anyone thinks. They managed to push their development agenda not because of Party A or Party B or Candidate A or Candidate B. The impression I got was that both parties or candidates could not predict the voting trend until the very last vote was counted. The voters played their cards close to their chest.
If anyone thinks they can claim credit for the win or blame some quarters for their loss, the Lubok Antu folks, with 45 years of political experience, will smile at the thought of how they extracted promises of development from the winning party, the BN.
The voters kept the politicians in suspense right until the last moment. Three days before polling, the mood to me appeared favourable to Pakatan. Two days before polling, it appeared 50-50, and a day and a half before I left Batang Ai, the word on the ground was a win for the BN. In the event, the BN won with an increased majority. It may be hard to swallow the results when we think of the RM70 million worth of projects promised by the BN - but it is the voters of Batang Ai who will have the last laugh, having squeezed every last ringgit out from the BN.
Reasons for PKR’s defeat
I will not attempt to analyse in detail the results, including the votes of each polling station. Suffice to say that this time the BN managed to maintain their strongholds and more so siphon off votes in areas which, in the last election, were won by the opposition.
I would summarise my thoughts on the possible reasons for the PKR’s defeat
as follows:
. The tuai rumah (longhouse village heads) and their ‘anak biak’ (followers) were probably worried that development would by-pass them if they voted for PKR. Here was an opportunity to again demand from the government - despite the failure of the BN to deliver on its earlier
promises.
. The fears of the community leaders (penghulu and tuai rumah) of the consequences of not supporting the BN. Remember they are paid monthly allowances and could be ’sacked’!
. Choice of candidate - is it an issue? It is always easy to say now that this could have been a problem. Perhaps so, with so many ‘missiles’ fired at Jawah for his previous pro-BN statements when he was a BN MP, the PKR campaign was always on the defensive. Or perhaps Bawin could have done better ( bearing in mind he lost by only 800+ votes in the last election). Or perhaps, PKR could have put up a ‘new face’ - with a clean slate to spar against Mussen, the BN newcomer.
. Are the people ready to accept PKR into Sarawak, especially in the rural areas? PKR should do a lot of ’soul-searching’ on how to prepare itself for the next state election. Find a credible leader (a Sarawakian) to lead PKR Sarawak. Find suitable candidates NOW to contest in the next
election with a thorough screening of prospective candidates (not just anyone who wants to contest) and devise a ’solid strategy’. Strengthen ties with other opposition parties to establish a formidable Pakatan Rakyat.
. Of course, the other obvious factors include BN’s powerful machinery (aided by government departments and agencies), ‘bottomless’ financial means and the many, many ‘promises’ made by ministers at both federal and state levels.
Having said all this, if only more Sarawakians could have emulated their counterparts in Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang, then PKR could also have won in Batang Ai. But, alas, it was not to be. Still, there should be no excuses for defeat. For the PKR, there’s no point crying over spilled milk (as it were) but it and the other opposition parties have to roll up their sleeves and continue with their long-term struggle.
I leave you with this excerpt from an article spotted on Agenda Daily,
“Kalau tuan menebang jati,
biar serpih jangan tumbang,
kalau tuan mencari ganti,
biar lebih jangan kurang”.
aliran
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