All right folks, after a good night’s sleep, I presume, let’s share some thoughts on the implications of the Sibu by-election result.
It’s going to be a lot harder for the BN to use vote-buying tactics to win voters’ support especially in urban areas in future by-elections. Sibu voters have taught the BN a bitter lesson.
Places of worship, religious institutions and independent schools should not accept grants from the government during election campaigns. This is outright vote-buying and the rejection of such offers sets a good example for their religious adherents or students and provides them a salutary lesson about standing up for ethics in public life.
Read Goh Keat Peng’s excellent piece ‘We don’t take such money‘. Mr Goh, a prominent Christian figure who attends a Methodist Church, gives us much food for thought: “I respectfully appeal to the churches directly involved in this episode (of accepting grants): If it isn’t true and it didn’t happen, then please say so. If it is true, offered and received, give it all back. WE DON’T WANT SUCH MONEY. Let the church be poor (as a church mouse) but as the Book of Proverbs says, poor but happy keeping a clear conscience.”
The result is also wake up call for Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud. His family’s and cronies’ wide-ranging involvement in the state’s economy contrast sharply with the appalling living conditions of many Sarawakians. Enough of the exploitation of people and natural resources. You are now a burden, a mill-stone around the BN’s neck.
The Sibu result is a psychological boost for the opposition and could yet have an impact on the state polls, though it is too early to say that the political tsunami in the peninsula has spread to Sarawak and Sabah. What the DAP could not achieve on its own previously, it managed to do so with the help of PKR and Pas and a host of determined campaigners and volunteers aided by an effective information dissemination back-room team at Sibu4Change.
What is certain is that Sarawakians in urban areas are now more exposed to independent views over the email and Internet, via mobile phones/SMS and through personal contacts elsewhere, and they are now more aware of critical national issues including larger issues of human dignity and justice. They can also see first hand what is happening around them.
More seats – how many it’s hard to say – are likely to fall to opposition hands in the coming state elections. But if Pakatan wants to make further headway in Sarawak, it will have to find a way to penetrate the interior areas and longhouses.
Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister George Chan says that among the key issues from the peninsula that swayed the election were the Allah controversy and the Malay Bible issue. But George, these issues will not go away – and they will have an impact on Sarawak Christians – unless they are fairly and satisfactorily resolved. They are also a convenient way of dismissing the other pressing issues in Sarawak including the excessive exploitation of natural resources, the loss of native customary land, the degradation of the environment and the general oppression faced by the people.
Wee Choo Keong’s resignation from PKR did not have any impact on Sibu. If anything, it made a lot of people more upset at the betrayal of the voters’ mandate for change and reforms.
Finally, don’t discount the sentiment and prayers of Malaysians across the country who were fervently willing the people of Sibu onwards to make that bold move forward for change, especially after the setback in Hulu Selangor. The national fervour for change must have been felt in Sibu, influencing voters to opt for change.
What do you think?
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Ha, now that the by election is over. Everyone has their say and the voters had made their decision. BN who lost; go back and think wht you have promised but noting was done. Many of us in the senior service of the govt know exactly how BN politicians work. No project escape their eyes and somehow…somewhere there is a crony. The march to make serious changes is the right direction. Out there across the sea, if you have no sat and ate with the hungry and poor of “ulu Sarawak” stay your mouth. These people deprived of their land,… Read more »
Do anybody know the lowest level of tactic use to win an election by BN. I remembered, the first time I voted, I think 2 sarawak state elections ago, DAP was leading and they still counting the vote, when suddenly, the whole Sibu have a blackout. Sibu too poor to pay their bill to SESCO( sorry, belong to Sarawak Chief Minister family), and BN came out winning after the light come back up. Even David Blaine and David Copperfield together can’t pull that off. BN the magician.
GOD has answered the prayers of the poor n abused rakyat 2 save them from the evil n corrupted UMNO/BN regime. Despite all their (tactics using) the people’s money, media, police, EC and timber companies clout n last-minute blatant postal vote (controversy), defenceless DAP/PR still managed to get a majority of 398 : actually it translates to 3980 . PRAISE ALLAH TUHAN !!!
The Truth is out there for us to see. We don’t need Senseless Argument to prove otherwise. Whether it is 398 votes or 1 vote majority, it already said LOUD & CLEAR, Sibuan DON”T TRUST BN. Lose mean lose. (If postal votes we not pressure votes, DAP would have thrash BN overwhelmingly. Don’t we love to say God is good?
On May 18, 2 opposition assemblymans from Kuching are banned to attend state assembly for 1 year, because they said something that BN don’t like. Now the Taib’s “Yes Man Club” think they can temporary take away the problem, think of the next state election, we will shoot more rockets until the smoke never clear.
K AND GERAKAN K, AIYO TAKUT TADAK BONUS KA (?)… MENANG SORAK KAMPUNG TERGADAI. ANYONE EVER IMAGINE DAP CAN WIN IN SIBU KA B4? NOT EVEN THE OPP EXPECTED THIS. NO WAY ONE WUD EXPECT THIS. AND SARAWAK IS INDEED BN’S FIXED DEPOSIT FOR DECADES.SEE THE RESULTS FROM PREVIOUS GEs.THOSE R THE FACTS. WANT TO DISPUTE THIS K N GERAKAN K? GO AHEAD. TWIST AS MUCH AS U WANT. MAKE FUN AS MUCH AS U WANT…. U FORGET AA, K & GERAKAN K, LKS SAID IT V CLEARLY B4 SIBU ELECTION, DAP NEED A MIRACLE. U LUPA KA OR U… Read more »
how about this blog owner ??? I failed to count how many times he shoots 24/365 nonstop and of course we know the target !!!
Fair and independent ??? He also failed to comment regarding to O’s attempt to spread “Ketuanan Islam” in this blog. Allah here and there. Even using we when reference to Allah as there are no other religions in this place. Supremacy things again.
It never surprises me if one day I find out that he belonged to the Malaysia millionaire club.
j.a
Only kids in their lower primary school will use capital letters to write letters and blogs posts.
As such, I can understand the utter lack of logic in your post above.
Historic…why historic when DAP already has 6 seats in Sawarak DUN ? LKS is big on words but small on intellect. No wonder we are facing so much issues in Penang as his son is even dumber than the father.
Miracle..why miracle when everyone was predicting a close fight due to DAP’s unrelenting use of religious issues and propaganda ?
Mr.Anil,
as Gerakan.K puts in his words…lots of kampung ppl did`nt vote…bla bla…. may be true..bez Lots of BN ATM machines must have failed to enter there. Regarding EC…initial statement was 59.60% voting…then halfway throuh…sms to malaysiakini…60% plus…finally declared 70% after complition of vote counting! real kampung level EC fit for BN style
.. Anil NETTO, you’ve been doing such a wonderful job everytime a major event takes place, GOD BLESS AND TAKE CARE!! To PR, plse move now don’t wait till election time, as in HS. Adopt villages in S/S, so as to gain foothold and also market their products.Collect donations from well wishes and utilise for longhouses. I think this is more important than buiding funds,etc,etc.Work as a multi-racial group. Do you know that there are still many UMNO contractors actively participating in many Majlis. They are (believed to be) funding UMNO !! Lastly, to reach Putrajaya, the PR state govts… Read more »
Despite pulling all the dirty tricks in their book and misusing the mainstream media to the maximum, BN still lost. Even SPR and the postal votes could not save them. The fact that DAP and their PR partners went up against government machinery and won speak volumes for their determination. BN will not be able to concentrate their resources as much and will no doubt lean once again on SPR and the much maligned government agencies for the next state election. But if you take throwing money around out of their arsenal, what does that leave BN? It’s a one… Read more »
Can you show us how SPR helps BN ??? I you can’t do it within 48 hours, then I will call you a liar each time I see your comment.
Many Rakyat are smarter than before thanks to the internet and God’s watching. We are now no fools to diabolical tricks and filthy money which BN will use on the gullibles and greedy. Cheap tricks never work forever like how most oil-snake medicinemen are exposed by the discerning public.
Well, there are unrepentent leeches who act big head and will bleed the nation without conscience and yet have the biles to vouch otherwise. God is watching them closely with disgust!
Anil,
Looks like DPM trying to outdo his boss PM Najib by assuring SIBU voters , he will honour his pledges and promised allocations despite the LOSS while PM Najib is giving out mixed signals on his promised allocations !!!!!!!!!!!
Karpal S should pursue the illegal deal PM makes with HS n SIBU voters and ensure the EC is aware of this illegal dealing using the Sunday Eastern headline as evidence (Sunday Eastern is an EAST MALAYSIAN daily )
They don’t want money even though they are lacking. They just want to worship with a Bible in a language they can understand, but the Gomen confiscate it.
The Sibu win even things up a bit for Pakatan after the Hulu Selangor loss. Clearly, it proves that for every UMNO/BN lover there is also one for Pakatan.
beware of those who will ‘tell lies and tell them so often until idiots actually believe them’. this is a mind control mechanism by a group of power crazy people who is so scared that they will loose their power once PR actually make it to putrajaya.these r the people who is so scared that all the crimes be exposed that they will have to spent their time in jails for cheating the people of malaysia. beware of persons who like to accuse others of the economic problems in this country when they themselves enriched their bank accounts in the… Read more »
Take the money and do good with it, after all it is rightfully the peoples. Allah provides to all, and Najib had proclaimed that he wants to be the PM for all. There is no sin in receiving what was misappropriated from you …????
Give the money back if you are truly the followers of your faith, such money is tainted and if you accept you would have sinned.
I want to underscore what Mr. Goh Keat Peng said about the Methodist Churches in Sibu. Hence, I also want to ask the Methodist Churches involved to come clean and clarify the following IMMEDIATELY: a) Did you take the bribes offered by PM Najib? Yes or No? b) If yes, are you going to return the bribes posthaste or are you going to keep it? Yes or No? c) If yes, when? And if No, pray tell, what are you going to use those bribes for? Let me quote scripture here to the Methodist Church for their daily reflection. Matt.6:24.… Read more »
God is watching us, God is watching us, God is watching us, From a distance.
Righteous Sibuan love God and A Better Malaysia more than filthy money.
I have on at least one previous occasion had to rather vocally state my disagreement with Goh Keat Peng views on a certain matter, much as I respect a lot of what he is. In this instance, however, I am in complete agreement with him. Notwithstand sound advice from Nik Aziz to ordinary voters about UMNO/BN folks bearing gifts near to elections – something like “bagi kain, pakai, bagi duit, ambil, tapi bila undi, undi PAS”, this case of the Sibu churches is different. As others have already pointed out, the churches need to place themselves as shining beacons which… Read more »
Rocket buruk this time was very lucky because of over confident of BN supporters and thus their low turnout. If BN supporters come out voting with full force, no chance for the chinese dap party.
Sibu will be Hulu Selangor in next GE.
You have to ask why the rocket very afraid of kampung voters and malay voters. What are the reasons ??? Racist policies, nepotism, cronyism ???
Ala, setakat nak cakap kampung saja Gerakan K, baik kau duduk diam2 dekat bandar macam kena Gelakan orang ramai. Strength of UMNO lies in the kampung (Tun Ghafar Baba). Why not you and your Gerakan fellows try and contest kampung seat, and UMNO fights in the cities. You think you can win meh? I tell you lah, Gerakan fight every kampung seat, they will lose to any Malay candidate (be it from PAS or PKR). Even the UMNO blogger Sakmongkol AK47 said, sometimes, voters would choose candidates based on race. Since Malays are majority in villages, Gerakan Chinese vs PAS… Read more »
Ahmad Syafiq,
are you from Penang ???
I have prepared for next GE as a candidate. I will try my best to contest against the rocket in Penang even my boss refuse to field me. I don’t care. I can’t accept DAP leadership in Penang anymore. I will do my part to save Penang.
The deposit money is ready. The election material also ready. Too much issues for me to choose. The classic KBP miracle is the major one. I will blast the rocket KAW KAW from head to toe.
You wait and see.
All the best to you then lad. I’ll hear your name as one of the GERAKAN candidates in Penang then. SAVE PENANG? LOL, as if Penang is that bad under LGE’s leadership. Sure sure, you’ll come down with whatever list you have prepared to reply me anyway. As long GERAKAN leave BN and stand independent like one of those Sabahan-based parties that left BN, then only will majority of Penangnites come back to support you. As long GERAKAN is under BN, majority of Penangnites will think, 1 vote for GERAKAN = 1 vote for UMNO. Sure, you can also counter… Read more »
Talk is CHEAP. Just see what has happened to BN in Sibu. The Sibuan showed their Action is LOUDER than cheap talk from BN. And worst is the Cheap Deal, Then No Deal from Cheapo PM. At least our so called Cheap Chief Minister LGE does keep his promises.
Do not promote LGE again after Kg Buah Pala miracle. No need for me to list all promises from DAP/LGE again.
At least I have seen with my own 2 eyes, what LGE has done for Penang in 2 years compared to what KTK has done during those monkey years. Gerakan is … … nothing else but …
“a loser who had lost in the past 3 elections”?
Now who is the loser? A bitter one in fact.
The readers know.
Anil
Thank you for the nail-biting coverage. I stayed stuck to my chair at the computer (running to the dinner table for food) until the words: OFFICIAL RESULTS came on. And after that, the relief, satisfaction and happiness were sensations no money can buy. Well done, one and all.
And to the likes of Wee Choo Keong, Ibrahim Ali, Zul Noordin, Ezam – we have seen through you and know the damage you have and can cause to our beloved country; thank god, the Sibuans saw through you too and have dismissed you…
Yes, the churches should not announce as yet that they are not accepting the money. Let the money first come along and then respectfully return it with a word of “thanks, but no thanks.” We will be too kind to the PM if we reject it now itself for it will be a way out for him delivered on a silver platter. Let him “honour” his word first and then we must tell him how dishonorable and despicable his conduct has been.
“
BC – yes, I saw how that RO dismissive handshake. I was disgusted as well. Wonderful coverage Anil! I hope that all Penisular Malaysian take a leaf from Sibuan – learn ‘delayed gratification’ so that the goal in mind is the sweetest possible fruit! Syabas Sibuan!
I personally do not think it is an easy task for Pakatan Rakyat to win the next GE given their internal weaknesses. If only the rest of Malaysia is as mature and sensible as Sibu voters. The Sibu election victory for DAP and shock defeat for BN/SUPP may signal another turning point that will tilt the balance in favour of PR. The UK elections and the unlikely coalition between the Tories/Liberal Democrats is also an encouraging sign for the new politics. What the voters in Sibu and the majority of Chinese in Hulu Selangor and all Msians want from their… Read more »
Come lah brother !
If a voter voted PR it means mature and sensible ???
What a stupid one sided comment !!!
Ask yourself why people voted BN for decades.
Simple Gerakan K, information = power.
Hi Gerakan K It is understandable that these Pakatan fanboys and gals are (going overboard) with their victory in Sibu. LKS … is even called it as historic though I fail to see the logic behind it. However, LKS is not known for using logic and reasons for his statements so this is hardly shocking. Their joy is understandable as Sibuan just saved DAP and Pakatan from total destruction. However, this just a temporary respite for the end is nigh for them. They are merely postponing the inevitable. The situation in Kedah is (shaky) and it is just a matter… Read more »
Jeremiah, I watched Inviticus while on my way to Bangalore. Very inspiring. How Nelson Mandela willing to stick his hand out to shook with his former enemies? Nelson didn’t ban SpringBok, a remnant of Aparthied but recolour it as part of South Africa. Can any majorities of this nation called Malaysia willing to do what Nelson ahs done? Going against the tide. Truth & reconciliation…..It’s an irony we ban people from going to South Africa due to Aparthied. Yet Malaysia including that … Mahathir practises (discrimination)… Malaysia should be an even more rainbow nation than South Africa…..That final rugby match… Read more »
Alhamdulillah. May God bless us with more such victories, especially in the Malay Muslim-majority constituencies in rural Peninsular Malaysia. Sedar lah whi saudara-saudari ku. Belajarlh dr pengundi- pengundi Sibu.
Anil Goh is hardly the voice of reason and nuetrality for us to listen to. He never been known to be impartial and as such I incline to believe that his words are motivated by political concerns rather than principles. BTW, I thought Pakatan and even our Cheap Minister had been advising the voters to take BN’s money but vote for Pakatan all along. Did that somehow slipped your mind ? Oh perhaps it is a case of sleep fatigue…LOL…Just joking. Anyway, my congrats and thanks for a great coverage. The Sibuan have spoken and we must respect their choice.… Read more »
Loser? K, mind you. How long have you been on the Malaysian political blogsphere? The Loser you’re talking about was instrumental in launching 6 rockets back in the 2006 Sarawak State Election. The so called ‘The Wind Of Change’ started in Sarawak in 2006 which incidentally transformed into the Tsunami of 2008. We the people of Sibu attributes the very success to Mr Wong Ho Leng. For the pass 3 elections he fought a relentlessly fight as an underdog against some of the richest politicians in Malaysia … And to what ends? This loser’s house (was targeted with fireworks on… Read more »
Hello
Fox it doesnt matter he lauched six rockets in Sarawak in 2006 before but the fact is his OWN rocket crashed and burned not ONCE but THREE times. That means he was rejected by rakyat three times.
As for his house been targeted by some parties unknown, hello friend, I am not a naive teenager who beleive in every word RPK and Mkini say to buy far fetched story you are peddling. We all know that this (could have been) due to DAP’s in-fighting that has been going on for long…
Wong Ho Leng himself won the Bukit Assek state constituency in 1996 and 2006. So, he is still a loser?
His previous winnings plus Sibu by-election. So won not once, but three times.
I have been in Sarawak for the past 10 years and no single action taken against … Taib.
The poor Ibans truly are continuesly suffering and their land given to a few selected Chinese.
Why should Sarawakians allow this to go on ?
This election victory for DAP is a wake up call to BN. UMNO must realize very quickly they only represent one component of bumiputras i.e the peninsular Malays. The bumiputras of Sabah and Sarawak do not view UMNO with the same adulation as peninsular Malays do. Secondly the favoritism shown to one particular ethnic group by the Government must cease right now. All Malaysian citizens must be treated fairly and equally. Thirdly this is a wake up call to pro-Malay NGOs like Perkasa. The Rakyat are not going to be silenced by ‘bully-beef’ tactics being employed by them such as,… Read more »