BN retains Batang Ai

LUBOK ANTU: Barisan Nasional retained the remote Batang Ai state constituency in southern Sarawak by an increased majority of 1,854 votes.

Its candidate, Malcolm Mussen Lamoh, 49, from Parti Rakyat Sarawak, yesterday defeated Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Jawah Gerang, 55.

Mussen garnered 3,907 votes against Jawah’s 2,053 votes.

In the 2006 state elections, Barisan’s Datuk Dublin Unting won against opposition Sarawak National Party (SNAP) Nicholas Bawin by 806 votes.

Unting died on Feb 24 from a stroke.

PKR, contesting for the first time in the Iban heartland, gave a good fight but failed to overcome the powerful Barisan election machinery, which started a month ago.

Mussen, an engineer with the state Agriculture Department, pledged to serve the people to the best of his ability.

“This result shows the people of Sarawak are still very much with the Barisan. PKR has no business here. The Ibans will reject outside parties,” he said after the result was ann-ounced at the Lubok Antu Sports Complex yesterday.

Jawah, a former five-term Lubok Antu MP when he was with Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak which is now deregistered, did not come to the counting centre.

State Barisan leaders, led by Parti Rakyat Sarawak president Datuk Seri Dr James Masing, was grateful that the people of Batang Ai still had faith in the ruling government.

“Even in Jawah’s stronghold, the Barisan did not lose by much.”

He also said the good turnout of 73% signalled that the Ibans were concerned about their future.

PKR state senior leader Datuk Jimmy Donald, a former three-term Sri Aman MP, said the result was “too incredible to believe.”

“What the federal and state governments did in the past few days in approving tens of millions of ringgit in projects and also by giving fast approval of MyKads and birth certificates swung the votes in their favour.

He said PKR would carry out a post-mortem on the results.

Voting here was smooth with only five police reports lodged throughout the campaign period.

Sarawak Commissioner of Police Deputy Comm Datuk Mohmad Salleh, meanwhile, commended the parties contesting in the by-election for cooperating with the police in ensuring it progressed smoothly.