KINIGUIDE Following the announcement of that the state assembly will be dissolved on April 11, the battle for the 11th Sarawak election has finally begun with BN and opposition parties busy planning their strategies to capture the 82 seats on offer.

All eyes will be on Chief Minister Adenan Satem on whether he will win a bigger majority in the Land of the Hornbills compared to his predecessor and governor Abdul Taib Mahmud who was facing allegations of corruption at the last polls.

1. Why Sarawak has a unique election date and not concurrent with the general election?

After joining Malaysia in 1963, Sarawak had simultaneous elections with the rest of the nation in 1969 and 1974. However, it opted to go it alone following the 1978 general election and 1979 state election.

Political pundits believed then chief minister Abdul Rahman Ya'kub’s inability to resolve internal fighting within the ruling PBB contributed to the split dates...