Opposition in for a bumpy ride

The opposition is literally in for a bumpy ride in its quest to wrest the Batang Ai state seat from the Sarawak Barisan Nasional in the upcoming April 7 by-election.

Stressing that the odds are against PKR, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) supreme council member Tedewin Ngumbang Datu pointed out that the ruling coalition is also aided by a formidable election machinery.

"The odds will be heavily-stacked against PKR. The logistics, operations and administration of the campaign will be nightmarish (for PKR), to say the least," warned the former police officer.

"PKR can never match BN Sarawak in these areas. It is always very difficult to wrest a seat from an incumbent government which has held it for many terms," he said.

For starters, he noted that PKR leaders will be busy with their battles in the two bukits – Bukit Selambau in Kedah and Bukit Gantang in Perak - where by-elections will also take place on April 7.

Should they make it across the South China Sea and by road up into the wild country of Batang Ai, he said: "The journey alone will be enough to exhaust them."

"From the Kuching International Airport, PKR leaders will have to drive nearly four hours on a bumpy road to Lubuk Antu and then cross the vast island sea formed by the lake of the Batang Ai dam to visit Delok, Engkari and Lamanak in the remote eastern stretches of the seat.

"Accommodation is only available at the very expensive Batang Ai Hilton along an isolated stretch of the lake, if it is not fully booked," he added.

The state BN has apparently fully booked all the accommodation available at the Sesco Township bungalows, government quarters and the KlingKang Inn in Lubuk Antu.

For transportation, the state BN can call upon a fleet of locally based brand-new Eurocopter choppers and other helicopters provided free of charge by the logging companies for the duration of the campaign.

Voodoo campaign

Apart from this, Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu will also make an effective contribution with his well-orchestrated voodoo campaign to scare the more superstitious older longhouse folk.

He has warned that 'supernatural repercussions' awaited outsiders and longhouse dwellers who allow them into their biliks (terrace units).

His oft-cited story is that of a longhouse resident who died suddenly of a mysterious illness shortly after allowing an opposition leader to enter his premises and launch a party branch.

"These outsiders do not understand that there are certain sets of rituals that must be strictly adhered to before they can enter a longhouse," said Jabu to the local media. "They must respect these traditional beliefs or else the longhouse folks will suffer the repercussions."

In view of this, he urged longhouse residents not to allow outsiders into their premises.

Meanwhile, PRS president James Masing warned that outsiders in the opposition may face the same fate as PKR leaders N Gobalakrishnan and R Sivarasa who have since been blacklisted by the state Immigration Department and declared persona non grata in Sarawak.

"If PKR misbehaves, it can happen (again)," he said. "Gobalakrishnan was kasar (rough) and didn't respect the customs of Sarawak."

However, Masing denied that the state Immigration Department would be deliberately used to keep PKR leaders from Peninsular Malaysia out of Sarawak.

No to hate politics

PRS secretary-general Wilfred Nissom Rata chipped in: "With more than 24 ethnic groups in Sarawak, I think that arousing sentiments as they do in the peninsular, with only three races to deal with, is what we must prevent."

"They (the opposition from peninsular Malaysia) are not welcome to spread their hate politics over here," he said.

On the other hand, PKR has the company of nothing more than a ragtag bunch of largely faceless Iban bloggers, generally unemployed graduates, plying their trade most of the time safely far away in the comforts of Kuching.

Victory in Batang Ai for the opposition would mean nothing short of a Dayak revolution in the making and mark the beginning of the end for the Taib-Rahman political dynasty which has ruled uninterrupted in Sarawak for well over four decades.