Where IS Future FOr Batang AI?

Sarawak Assistant Sports Minister Datuk Dublin Unting, who was in a coma after a stroke nine months ago, died at the Normah Medical Specialist Centre here at 1.25am on Tuesday, which would see Malaysians facing yet another by-election. The long-serving Batang Ai assemblyman was a Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) vice-president and also assistant minister for agriculture (research and coordination).

This up-coming Batang Ai by-election will be a litmus test for PKR to gauge the extent of its support in rural Sarawak. “Things have now changed because there is a rising expectation among Sarawakians that there must be a change in government,” said the party’s Padungan assemblyman Dominique Ng Kim Ho.He said that although Pakatan Rakyat was well accepted by urban voters, the by-election would be a crucial test for the opposition alliance in rural Sarawak.

PKR, which has set up divisions in most of the state’s 31 parliamentary constituencies, claims it recruited tens of thousands of rural electorate, most of whom are natives, after last year’s parliamentary election. The Batang Ai by-election will be held following the death of State Assistant Minister of Sports Dublin Unting, yesterday. Ng said the candidacy for the by-election was expected to be discussed at the PKR special meeting for Sarawak in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

He added that PKR had at least two strong potential candidates for the by-election – former Lubok Antu MP Jawah Gerang and PKR Lubok Antu divison pro tem chairman Nicholas Bawin.
Batang Ai is one of the state seats in the Lubok Antu parliamentary constituency. About 95% of the electorate in Batang Ai is Iban, most of them farmers.

Jawah, a five-term Lubok Antu MP, did not contest in last year’s parliamentary election. He recently joined PKR, together with his supporters. He was formerly in the now-defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), a former Barisan Nasional component party. Bawin, a former Sarawak National Party (SNAP) vice-president, has contested twice in Batang Ai. In the last state elections in 2006, he secured 2,489 votes, losing to Unting by 806 votes in a straight fight.

Bawin stood as an independent in Lubok Antu in last year’s general election, obtaining 5,159 votes but lost to Barisan’s William Nyallau, who polled 6,769 votes. Bawin, who hails from the Nanga Tutong longhouse in Batang Ai, said he would leave it to the PKR leadership to decide on whether he should contest.

Meanwhile, SNAP president Edwin Dundang said: “Batang Ai is still part of our agenda. Now is the opportunity to recover the seat from Barisan.” SNAP has worked closely with PKR and DAP in past elections.

Now, This is the time for people who lived at batang ai think about their future. Are they really want give the PKR to controll their live ?