S'WAK POLLS Team Adenan - the Sarawak BN dream line-up assembled to ensure a great victory - might not be as glorious or much of a team at all, at least not in Miri.

Despite his best efforts, Chief Minister Adenan Satem appears to have had limited success at quelling infighting between Sarawak BN components, especially SUPP and UPP.

This is easily observable in Miri town, where almost everything is just a five-minute drive away, including the BN operations centres for its three urban state seats.

The town falls under all the three seats, but despite this, SUPP candidates for Piasau and Senadin, Sebastian Ting and Lee Kim Shin, do not appear to be working together with former UPP man and BN direct candidate for Pujut Hii King Chiong.

The only time the three have appeared together based on Malaysiakini's observations was when Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi gave a speech at Saberkas last Friday.

Even team captain Adenan does not appear to have managed to get all three to share the same stage in this small town, having had to go to separate functions to meet the candidates.

The BN campaign is in stark contrast to DAP's, where all three candidates march the streets hand-in-hand on their walkabouts and hold ceramah together on a daily basis, maximising their chances of getting to voters in their respective constituencies.

Commenting on this, Ting (photo) said the BN candidates are focusing on their own respective constituencies.

"The concentration of voters is different, so I have my own areas to cover. We only have 11 days (to campaign) to reach our own supporters and voters," Ting, the SUPP secretary-general, said when contacted.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia professor Faisal Hazis said infighting between SUPP and UPP had cost BN Piasau and Pujut in 2011.

"So if the schism continues, definitely it will affect their chances," Faisal told Malaysiakini.

However, he notes that DAP is also facing troubles of its own in Pujut's four-cornered fight, where the incumbent Fong Pau Teck, a former DAP man, is also contesting.

The lack of cooperation between Lee, Ting and Hii, though, might cost BN more than just Miri.

Common enemy

Universiti Malaya analyst Awang Azman Awang Pawi said SUPP's dissatisfaction at being passed over for certain seats in favour of UPP candidates stifles its efforts to battle its common enemy, that is the opposition.

"It makes it difficult for them (SUPP) to unite. Their supporters are not happy, and the machinery will not go all out to fight (the opposition)," he said.

The same goes for infighting between SPDP and Teras, he added.

Overall, based on UM's ongoing research of the elections, Awang Azman said BN stands to lose at least half of the 12 seats where it is fielding direct candidates, due in part to internal sabotage caused by the infighting.

The only seats it is likely to win for now, he said, are Serembu, Bukit Semuja, Bekenu, Mulu and Batu Danau.

Awang Azman, however, believes that BN will carry out a "cleaning" exercise two days before May 7, to ensure that it can win in the remaining seven seats, which includes Pujut.

BN, however, is not the only one facing problem with sabotage.

The opposition itself is squaring off against each other in multi-cornered fights, including six seats where allies DAP and PKR are both contesting.