Whiff of change rising from Sibu

By Pushparani Thilaganathan - Free Malaysia Today

SIBU: With a day to go, DAP candidate Wong Ho Leng, 51, is euphoric as he can “now see the dream”.
The sweltering heat in Sibu is fuelling fumes of change across the constituency. After 24-long years, the DAP may very well be the closest ever to win on May 16.
“It's different this time... very different, I can feel the mood... I can see the dream,” said a grinning Wong, raising his voice above the din at last night’s gathering of over 3,000 listeners at Rejang Park.
This is Wong’s fourth attempt at the Sibu parliamentary seat.
In his last outing, he lost to the late Sibu MP Robert Lau by 3,323 votes in a three-cornered fight.
This time -- although still a three-way tussle with independent Narawi Haron in the arena – the primary battle to wrest the seat is between DAP and Lau’s nephew (Lau) Hui Yew (better known as Robert Lau Jnr).
The number “four” denotes death in Chinese and pundits are waging bets on who will “politically die” this time, as the Barisan Nasional’s Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) also has a “four” somewhere in its quotient.
The odds are building up for Wong and ironically, upping his chances at the ballot box, was PKR Wangsa Maju’s Wee Choo Keong's exit from the party yesterday.
Said a PKR insider last night: “This (Wee’s exit) will backfire at the ballot box. It is stupid timing... typical BN-style tactic. This is not Hulu Selangor or the Malays.
“You cannot intimidate the Chinese here. They are excited at meeting the steady stream of DAP leaders. They are seeing the effect of their collective might. It has put LGE (Lim Guang Eng) on an equal footing with other Malay ministers and Chief Minister Taib (Mahmud).
“It is a very powerful feeling... They are conscious of their collective strength now, especially after 2008. They like what they see... the knowledge and humiliaty in Guan Eng, (Lim) Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Anwar Ibrahim. It’s all strong and credible.
“It’s not about money anymore. It's now integrity, which BN is very short on,” he said.
Before Wong took to the stage, Guan Eng had roused the crowd with his appeal for one more MP in Parliament now that Wee had quit.
“Vote for principled politics, not commercial politics…,” he said in reference to the “frogs” in PKR who had jumped to Umno.
Iban irritation
Meanwhile, the constant barrage of visiting federal officials is irritating residents in longhouses in Bawang Assan and Penusu.
Forced to fete and feed them, the residents are beginning to grumble.
A PKR team, which visited them yesterday, said the tuai (chief), many of whom are retired teachers and civil servants, are unhappy.
“There’s just too much feasting and protocol when the BN delegations come calling. They bring food and ask them to cook and fete the ministers.
“The Ibans are tired and fed up,” he said, adding that the mood in the longhouses is also shifting.
“The DAP has never ever stepped foot in some of these longhouses. The Pakatan strategy has allowed each party to focus on one group.
“That is good. We have put our PKR people in every longhouse. The BN has also come in but we are playing low key.
“We are confident that we now have some of the tuai rumahs on our side. They are educated pensioners who can understand our concerns.
“We feel we have about 25% of their votes,” said the official who was part of the team led by party leader Daniel Tajem.
Also on yesterday’s team were leading native customary rights land lawyers Baru Bian and Paul Raja.
Photos by B Nantha Kumar.