In Sibu, money doesn't talk.......

If Pakatan Rakyat's currency during election campaigns is ideals, promise of good governance and accountability, then BN's currency is plain cold hard cash. But if results of the Sibu by-election were anything to go by, pork-barrel politics ought to be brought to an end. This was particular evident in the voting district of Rajang Park, a Chinese majority suburb within the Pelawan state constituency.

On the eve of polling, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak told voters there during a rally that he would approve a RM5 million flood mitigation project to resolve frequent flood problems in the area. The caveat was that the project would go on only if BN's Robert Lau Hui Yew won the by-election.

"Let's make a deal. If you deliver me Robert Lau Jr on Sunday, I will sign the cheque on Monday," said Najib, to much applause from his audience. But as the results trickled out on Sunday, it was nothing short of shocking - voters there decided overwhelmingly to snub Najib's offer. Compared with the March 2008 general elections, DAP's votes in the Rajang Park voting district increased by 25%, to 1,608 votes while votes for BN dipped by 9.6%, to 772. Overall, DAP managed to double its majority in Rajang Park from 425 to 836.

Chinese uprising

This scenario starkly resembles that of the Hulu Selangor by-election last month, which saw voters from the Chinese majority Rasa voting district voting greatly in favour of the opposition despite a lucrative offer from Najib. Back then, Najib had offered RM3 million to refurbish the 81-year-old SRJK (C) Rasa, which was in dire need of repair. However, Najib later honoured this pledge. Overall, a cursory look at voting figures showed that DAP managed to secure a dramatic 7.4% increase in Chinese votes across the constituency, which help the party secure a wafer-thin 398 vote majority to win the seat.

Aiding the velocity of the shift against BN was an estimated 7.8% increase in Chinese voters turnout. This unprecedented phenomenon was most apparent in the Pelawan state constituency - one of the three state seats which make up the Sibu parliamentary constituency. In Pelawan, which has an 88.7 percent Chinese electorate, DAP saw its votes increase by 2,071 votes to 11,276. In contrast, SUPP saw a reduction of 266 votes to 5,807.

All round improvements

In total, DAP's majority in Pelawan increased by 2,337 votes to 5,469. The large majority gained in Pelawan was enough to make up for losses in postal votes and two other state constituencies. In the mixed state constituencies of Bawang Assan (Chinese, 62%, Iban, 33%, and Malay/Melanau, 5%) and Nangka (Malay/Melanau, 48%, Chinese, 30%, and Iban, 22%) SUPP beat DAP by 866 and 2,013 votes respectively. However, it must be pointed out that the trend of increased Chinese support for DAP was consistent in both Bawang Assan (519 votes) and Nangka (218).

Both Bawang Assan and Nangka have a sizeable Chinese electorate, at 62% and 30% respectively. Voting data also show that DAP has made inroads with Chinese voters in rural areas, particularly in voting streams for older voters. This includes the voting districts of Dassan, Bukit Lan, Ma'aw, Ensurai and Teku which all falls under the Bawang Assan constituency. This is a major breakthrough for DAP and the opposition because it is a long held belief that older voters are more inclined towards voting the incumbent than the opposition.

Melanau surprise

Surprisingly, DAP made marginal improvements in the Malay/Melanau vote, improving by an estimated 2.7% and thus securing 15% of the community's vote in total. Unexpected gains were clearly observed in the voting district of Ilir Nangka, comprising 86% Malay Melanau, where DAP's votes increased from 103 to 359. Ilir Nangka was one of the several places which saw a significant activity by their Pakatan partner PAS, who are expected to launch a branch in the area soon.

In general however, SUPP manage to ride on a bigger turnout of Malay/Melanau voters and thus easily nullifying any gains made by DAP. Among the Iban electorate, DAP was unable to make any inroads with support to have slid an estimated 2.6%. There are three voting districts with a 80% Iban make up - Rassau, Penansu and Bawang Assan - where DAP managed to secure only 23% of the votes cast. While it is a marginal reduction, DAP workers blame the BN's use of money and inaccessibility to Iban longhouses as factors in the dip.

Allah and 'Pek Moh'

Though East Malaysians are generally ambivalent towards national issues, the Chinese response towards DAP's 'Sibu for Change' campaign appears to be bucking this trend. At their nightly ceramah stages, DAP went on the offensive, charging BN with corruption, lack of good governance, perpetuating economic imbalances and denying Sarawak more oil royalties. DAP's also attempted to stoke anger towards the BN federal government over the latter's handling of the controversy over the use of the term 'Allah' by non-Muslims. Christians make up 53% of the Sibu electorate.

DAP's most prominent whipping boy was Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud or 'Pek Moh' (White Hair) to Sarawakian Chinese - blaming him for poorly handling the state's economy and his alleged attempt at building a political dynasty. Local issues did not escape DAP as well, who zeroed in on the electorate's discontent over high renewal costs for leasehold licenses imposed by the state government. Even after Abdul Taib announced a substantial reduction of up to 70% to the leasehold license renewal, it was not enough to entice the Chinese majority.

Ultimately it was a case of too little, too late in Sibu as the Chinese registered their protests against poor governance and the BN's inability to solve decades-old problems plaguing Sibu. BN eventually fumbled over their own election strategy of continuing to harp on their promises of economic development, failing to read into the Chinese psyche that was fed up with unfulfilled promises of the past. - Wong Teck Chi and Joseph Sipalan

source:malaysiakini

It was not Muhyiddin or any UMNO goon that was making the offer, its Najib himself who said it loud and clear to the people. “The understanding is quite simple. I help you, you help me,” or "You scratch my back and I will scratch yours"

So if money cannot buy votes in GE 13, then UMNO is in trouble and let us keep it that away...........

cheers.