DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has dubbed Pakatan’s foray in the 10th Sarawak state elections as a ‘battle of the century’.

anwar ceramah in permatang pauh 270311 lim guan eng He said that the continuous BN rule since the Sarawak’s independence in 1963 had curbed democracy and denied the people of benefits from the state’s abundant natural resources.

“Sarawak has timber, oil, gas and land but unfortunately, it also has plenty of ‘crocodiles’,” said Lim during a rally at the state DAP headquarters in Kuching last night.

The crocodile jibe drew chuckles from the 500-strong crowd, which relished Guan Eng’s comparison of the man-eating reptiles - abundant in Sarawak’s estuaries - to corrupt government officials.

“This is why we need to elect candidates who dare to catch these crocodiles,” thundered Lim to shouts of approval.

Do you think Taib will quit?

Lim then segued into Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s apparent promise to step down after the polls.

After eliciting shouts of “No” from the crowd when he asked if they believed Taib, Lim then pointed out that Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) chief George Chan had once promised the same in 2006.

NONE Back then, Chan said he would step down in a year. Lim pointed out there was no signs of him stepping down any time soon.

“Moreover, they (Taib and Chan) are in-laws. If Chan doesn’t quit, do you think Taib will?” he said.

Lim added that the Sarawak voters must not allow BN to win in the April 16 state polls or Taib would take this as a signal to stay on.

“If you want Taib gone, you must make sure than BN is defeated,” he said.

Cops break up rally

The rally last night was for DAP to announce its five candidates for the Southern Kuching area.

dap southern region candidate announcement 020411 New faces includes lawyer Wong King Wei, 31, who would be contesting in Padungan pharmacist Chew Wang See, 27, who would be contesting in Batu Kawah .

 

DAP will also be making a bid for Simanggang , an Iban-majority seat outside of Kuching, by fielding agricultural consultant Leon Donald, 37, who is the son of former Sri Aman MP Jimmy Donald.        

Lawyer Chong Chieng Jen will be defending the Kota Sentosa seat and so will Pending state assemblyperson Violet Yong.

Batu Lintang state assemblyperson Voon Li Shan was spotted at the rally but refused to state whether he had accepted the party’s decision to drop him.

“The party leaders have decided... I hope the voters will accept this decision. That is the most important thing,” he said, while stressing that he is a “DAP man” and will campaign for the party’s candidates.

The rally was broken up later by the Kuching OCPD Mun Kok Khiong on grounds that no permit was given for the event.

This prompted angry jeers and hoots from the audience followed by loud chants of “D.A.P... D.A.P...”. Chong urged the crowd to disperse peacefully. There was no untoward incidents.

Mun declined comment when approached.