Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem has purportedly urged some 100,000 workers in the timber industry to choose between their rice bowl and voting for the opposition in the state election.

According to a source, Adenan said this during a meeting with the employees of Rimbunan Hijau Group (RH) in Sibu last Friday.

"He told us that our choice is between keeping our jobs and voting for the opposition," the source said, on condition of anonymity.

The source claimed Adenan said the opposition wanted to break up the six timber giants in the state into smaller entities.

"The chief minister cautioned that the big six companies could close down and the 100,000 people who directly work in the industry might lose their jobs," added the source.

If such a situation occurs, Adenan also said it would affect the livelihood of tens of thousands who are indirectly linked to the timber industry.

The source also claimed that the chief minister urged RH employees to vote for their executive director and BN direct candidate for the Dudong seat, Tiong Thai King.

Thai King is the brother of billionaire Tiong Hiew King, who founded RH.

It is learned that Adenan also repeated the same call to employees of the other five timber giants - KTS Trading, Samling, Shin Yang, Ta Ann and WTK Holdings Bhd.

When contacted, United Peoples Party (UPP) president Wong Soon Koh, who attended the meeting in RH, declined to comment on the matter.

Malaysiakini has also contacted Adenan’s press secretary for comment on this and is awaiting a response.

Nomination for the Sarawak election is on April 25, while polling has been fixed for May 7.

This would be the first state election under the leadership of Adenan, who assumed the chief minister's post in February 2014.