Sibu drenched in money
Tue, 11 May 2010 17:34
SIBU: It is raining money in Sibu these days and all Pakatan Rakyat can do is watch.
Local newspapers over the last few days have been splashing pictures of mock cheques, smiling recipients and grinning BN leaders.
They bear captions such as 'Chinese primary schools get RM10mil', 'Independent Chinese secondary school gets RM5mil', 'Rm6.5mil for Sarawak small holders' and 'RM200.00/month subsidy for fisher folks' living costs'.
Sibu has never before seen windfalls coming in such rapidity over such a short time, according to a local resident.
Apart from the millions for this and that project, there were generous ang pows passing through the corridors of the long houses and the city streets, he said.
Every visiting federal ministers had been generous, he added.
There are five days to go before for the May 16 by-election, which is a three cornered tussle between BN, Sarawak United People’s Party and an independent candidate.
Will the independent Narawi Haron withdraw? The bet is on that he will once the price is right. Chances are the figure will get right soon because BN cannot afford to let him break the Malay-Melanau votes in the expected neck-and-neck race.
Nawawi contested in Sibu in 1995, garnering 925 votes, mainly from the Malay-Melanaus. In the 2006 election, he registered to contest but dropped out before polling day.
Meanwhile the townsfolk expect Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to bring along with him the largest bag of goodies ever, including a huge amount of money for flood mitigation programmes.
The Chinese are also hoping to hear him give the go-ahead for a local university and more millions for Chinese schools.
Nail-biting finish
Najib’s appearance is a much awaited moment. Expectations are high that BN will be spending far more than the RM66 million it blew to wrest the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat from PKR on April 25.
The locals have drawn a parallel between Hulu Selangor and Sibu.
The BN candidate in Sibu, Robert Lau Hui Yew, is a political novice with good public relations skills, much like the newly elected P Kamalanathan of Hulu Selangor.
Lau will face Sarawak DAP chief Wong Ho Leng who, like PKR Hulu Selangor candidate Zaid Ibrahim, is a well-known lawyer.
Pundits also expect a nail-biting finish in Sibu, a la Hulu Selangor, where BN won by 1,725 votes.
Wong is a veteran politician and has vied for the Sibu seat three times before. In his last outing, he lost to the late Robert Lau by 3,323 votes. It was a three cornered fight between DAP, PKR and BN.
Robert Lau, who is an uncle to the current BN candidate, died on April 9.
The candidates’ performance in Sibu will be an indication of their respective parties’ chances in the impending state election.
Source: freemalaysiatoday.com
Ulasan: Mana SPR? Bermoralkah parti yang merasuah pengundi.
No comments:
Post a Comment