PKR declares victory for Pakatan in Sarawak

April 16, 2011

KUCHING, April 16 — PKR declared victory for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) tonight despite suffering massive losses, claiming the polls results were an "excellent start" to a new beginning for Sarawak and a sign that Malaysians were ready for a two-party system.

PKR's Sarawak chief Baru Bian, who won in Ba'Kelalan seat, said the pact's success in more than doubling its seat representation in the state assembly was a sign that Barisan Nasional's (BN) "fixed deposit" of Sarawak was now "being withdrawn."

"I would like to give thanks to the many people who prayed for us. The whole country was praying for a change and it has come ... it is a sign, it is an excellent start and a new beginning for change in Sarawak," he told a press conference at the party's headquarters here.

Tonight's results saw DAP scoring a resounding victory when it swept up 12 of the 15 seats it had contested while PKR won in three out of 49 seats and PAS lost in all five seats.

In total, BN retained its two-thirds majority but with a reduced tally from 63 to 55. Independent George Lagong won in one seat.

Sarawak-based opposition party SNAP, which fielded candidates to contest against PKR in 26 seats after a disagreement over seat distribution, failed to win a single seat and many of its candidates have even lost their deposits for the polls.

"From the results, one of the most obvious and good things is that it confirmed to us that the two-party system, that rose from the 2008 tsunami, is here to stay. It is a reality, judging from the vote pattern.

"It looks like the clear choice for the people is either BN or PR … this is a good sign of approval from Sarawakians that the system is here to stay," he said.

Despite its failure to deny BN its customary two-thirds majority in the House, the opposition nearly doubled its tally from eight to 15, a clear indication that PR had successfully broken into the ruling government's east Malaysian fortress.

PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who jointly chaired the press conference tonight, agreed with Baru's reading of the poll results, saying that Sarawakians had displayed political maturity throughout the 10-day campaign period and when casting their ballots today.

"I would like to congratulate Sarawak. The results are historic ... never in the history of Sarawak and this leads us to the two-party system," she said.

She also acknowledged that PKR had suffered major losses in the polls as it had only triumphed in three of the 49 seats it had contested but blamed the losses on electoral fraud.

"We were facing a government machinery so I thank Allah that we have done pretty well in the election.

"We were not faced with an ordinary or level playing field so now we want to see where these irregularities are and we will make our protest known," she said.

Both Baru and Wan Azizah agreed that tonight's outcome would boost PR's confidence in the coming federal elections, which has to be called before 2013.

Baru noted, however, that the voting pattern from the polls showed that many of those living in the interiors of Sarawak were still starry-eyed over BN's promises of development and election goodies.

The urban and semi-urban vote played a major factor in PR's success in tonight's state polls, a clear indication that the pact has yet to make significant headway with rural communities, often considered as BN's vote bank.

"There is a change ... but there is still a percentage of people in the rural areas who are yet to be ready to look into the future. Their judgements are clouded by how BN dangles carrots and projects before them," he said.

He promised, however, that PR would compile a list of BN's many promises made during the polls and hold them to it.

"We will expose them. I am confident that if we put the facts and truth before the people, their mindset will change," he said.


COMMENTS:

Congratulations to BN for retaining 55 seats and to Pakatan Rakyat for the astounding victory for increasing to 15 seats: PKR 3 & DAP 12. While the Independent won the Pelagus seat. The shift of the voting pattern basically came from the urban towns and cities while the rural areas are still bound by the "spell" of poverty. The spell is not yet broken by prayers for the rural people and more intensive prayers have to be made for them in the years to come. It may be another 15 years or 30 years before the younger educated generations will be able to take over their fathers' place.

The key issue which the Christians in Sarawak prayed for the change is the freedom of worship and freedom of expression to use any word which Yahweh Alaha has bestowed to the Christians since the day of Pentecost which marks the beginning of the era of the Christian Church in Jerusalem. Arabs Christians have used the word "Allah" which is a borrowed word from the Aramaic Christians who used "Alaha" for "The God"; "a" is the article in Aramaic for "the" and "alah" means "God". Alaha is not the name of God but merely a title for the Supreme Deity, the Creator.

Sarawak Christians have prayed for the permanent solution to AlKitab-Allah issue because the younger generations need Al-Kitab for Bible Study and for them to grow spiritually. Children today are taught in Bahasa Malaysia the national language of the country. Hence the children can read Al-Kitab in Bahasa Malaysia much better than in the local dialects of the different tribes. This time DAP has won 12 seats because the "spell" of poverty has been broken for the Chinese and the curse of poverty will not cast any fears on the Chinese Christians because the Name of Yahshua aka Jesus and the precious Blood of Yahshua have delivered them from the spell and curse.

What the elected representatives of the State Government have to do is mutual co-operation to eradicate poverty in the State and restore the freedom of worship. This Al-Kitab will remain as an issue for the next election and Federal election in the near future. The seed of change has been sowed and the urban people has retained the heat of change. It will remain for a long time until the basic rights as enshrined in the Constitution have been restored and honoured by the Federal government and State government.