Sibu by-election, DAP wins by 398-vote majority

Announced at 11pm, Sunday 16 May 2010 at Dewan Suarah Sibu.

DAP's Wong Ho Leng won the P212 Sibu by-election by 398 votes, garnering 18,845 votes to beat BN's Robert Lau Hui Yew (18,447). Independent Narawi Haron polled 232 votes and promptly lost his deposit.

It was a huge setback for the mighty BN, who hoped to retain the Sibu seat and after having won another by-election - the Hulu Selangor Parliamentary constituency, barely a month ago on 25 April 2010.

Despite relentless campaigns and the presence of BN super-heavyweights including the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the 3 UMNO Vice Presidents, the long serving Sarawak Chief Minister as well as other prominent figures, and huge media support, the BN failed to retain Sibu who has a majority of Chinese Foochows voters.

As for the Pakatan Rakyat especially DAP, winning the Sibu by-election is critical and crucial to reverse the recent losses of Pakatan Rakyat members of parliament, and serve as a critical launchpad for the second tsunami for change in the upcoming Sarawak state elections, as well as the 13th General Elections.

The Sibu contest was between Barisan Nasional and DAP, but it quickly narrowed down to a fight between the DAP and SUPP, or the Sarawak United People's Party.

SUPP is still smarting over the inroads made by DAP in the last state elections whereas DAP, emboldened by its 2006 wins, is hungry to add another notch to its belt.

The BN won in the rural areas encompassing the Ibans and Dayaks Long houses or Rumah Panjang and the Kampung Melayu, but failed to get enough support from the urban Chinese.

Maybe the perenial flooding problems in Sibu as well as other macro issues, refrained the voters from voting BN. The low voters turn-out may be a contributing factor too.

Except for the lone independent candidate, it was hard to predict which candidates, BN or DAP, had the upperhands from Day One. It was 50-50 all the way from nomination day, right up to polling day.

Either BN campaigns or DAP campaigns, both drew huge crowds, some numbering more than 10,000 people who thronged to listen to the ceramahs, speeches and campaigns.

Political observers had predicted that DAP would make Tan Sri Taib Mahmud and his family's vast business empire the No. 1 issue. But according to Joceline Tan of the Star, DAP does not seem to be pushing the limits where the Chief Minister is concerned. “Peh Ma” (white-haired), as he is known in Foochow, is still an issue especially among the Chinese but in a rather tired way.

They did poke fun at Sibu's 28-storey Wisma Sanyan which is also Sarawak's tallest building, claiming that “no one dares build anything higher.” The controversial building belongs to Taib's younger brother Datuk Tufail Mahmud.

Religion was the flash point of the campaign.

DAP's Lim Kit Siang started it by daring SUPP to take a stand on the Allah issue which is still pending in the courts.

SUPP's Sibu warlord Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh returned the volley saying that “a vote for DAP is a vote for PAS and the Islamic state.”

Meanwhile some ponders wether Robert Lau Hui Yew lacked the charisma of his predecessor, the late Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew??

Why did the Sibu voters showed no appreciation whatsoever to the huge development funds and financial assistance, announced by BN leaders to them?

Did they forget that RM65 million was announced by the PM to help finance the Chinese School in and around Sibu?

What more are they expecting?? What exactly do they want??

Did Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Wong Ho Leng, Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng, Chong Chieng Jen, Nizar Jamaluddin, Nga Kor Ming, Violet Yong, Ting Tze Fui and other Pakatan Leaders had much more charisma, x-factors and crowd pulling antics than their BN nemesis??

Well, the battle of Sibu has been a hard-fought campaign, punch for punch and barb for barb.

According to the star, for the first time in a long while, the proxy scenario was not Najib vs Anwar or Umno vs PAS.

The battle for Sibu is not only about who is most capable of taking Sibu to Parliament but also which party can best represent the Chinese in Sarawak.

The air has been filled with charges and counter-charges. DAP calls for change; Barisan claims changes are already taking place; DAP counter-claims that change comes with reform. And the exchange of words rolls on.

Sibu residents say they have never experienced an election as contentious and exciting as this.

Then came the acroynm Sibu Sibuk (Busy Sibu)!!

The total number of registered voters in Sibu are 54,695. However only 32,742 or 59.86 % voters cast their ballots.

Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said he was not satisfied with the turnout, which was lower than the 67% recorded in the 2008 general election.

In the 2008 general election, Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew (BN) retained the Sibu seat with a 3,549-vote majority, beating Wong Ho Leng of DAP and Lim Chin Chuang of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in a 3-cornered fight.

The by-election was called following the death of Hoi Chew who was also Deputy Transport Minister on April 9.

This result means there is a reversal of almost 4,000 votes against BN and the ruling federal and state government needs to look at these factors that contributed to the electoral defeat.

We know that urban areas are tough for the BN to win, judging from past elections results. Look at the Polictical Tsunami of 2008, apart from taking over 4 states - Kedah, Perak, Penang and Selangor, the Pakatan Rakyat recorded landslide wins in majority of urban areas such as Wangsa Maju, Bukit Bintang, Lembah Pantai and Kota Kinabalu.

And so is Sibu.

Watch out for the 13th General Election - Lim Kit Siang said the current PM will not be PM on that day, but as Opposition leader??? Well, just wait and see...

Another byelection in Malaysia - Penanti, Penang

Satu lagi pilihanraya kecil di Malaysia, bakal diadakan berikutan perletakan jawatan bekas timbalan ketua menteri pulau pinang, Mohd Fairus Khairuddin sebagai ADUN Penanti berkuat kuasa hari ini Khamis, 16 April 2009.

Ia pilihanraya kecil ke 6 selepas pilihanraya umum ke 12, Mac tahun lalu.

5 pilihanraya kecil sebelum ini adalah di Parlimen Permatang Pauh, Parlimen Kuala Terengganu, Parlimen Bukit Gantang, DUN Bukit Selambau dan DUN Batang Air.

Kesemua kawasan itu kecuali DUN Batang Air, Sarawak, dimenangi Pembangkang.

Former Penang Deputy Chief Minister, Mohd Fairus Khairuddin today resigned as assemblyman for Penanti, paving the way for the 6th by-election in Malaysia, since the 12th general election in March last year.

The previous 5 by election were held in 3 Parliamentary constituencies namely Permatang Pauh, Kuala Terengganu and Bukit Gantang, all won by the opposition.

2 state constituency byelection were also held - Bukit Selambau state in Kedah won by the opposition through Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Batang Air in Sarawak, won by the ruling BN, Barisan Nasional.

The score corrently stands at 4-1, in favour of the 3 parties opposition pact, DAP, PKR and PAS.

The newsreport by the Star online on Fairus resignation as assemblyman.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Penang Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mohd Fairus Khairuddin resigned as Penanti assemblyman effective Thursday, paving the way for yet another possible by-election.

In a press statement, he said that he would now focus on his post-graduate studies and in clearing his name from the allegations hurled against him.

"I made this decision after taking into realistic considerations the people whom I represent as well as to protect the interest of PKR,” he said.

“This decision enables me to focus on my doctorate studies and allows me more time with my family since I have sacrificed much when I carried out my duties,” he said.

He thanked his constituents for supporting him and said that he was quitting for the good of Pakatan Rakyat its struggle under the leadership of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In an immediate response, the Election Commission said it was awaiting official notification of Fairus’s as Penanti assemblyman.

Its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said the Commission would only start to look into the resignation and the possible by-election once it was officially informed of the resignation.

He said the state assembly speaker would usually notify the state Commission office of a vacancy or it could also be contacted by the representative involved.

“As yet, we have not received any notification to the effect from the Penang state assembly speaker or our state office so are unable to confirm the facts,” he said when contacted in PUTRAJAYA.

He said however that if Fairus had indeed quit then a by-election would be held to elect a new representative to replace him.

He said the commission’s machinery was always ready and would be able to handle another by-election if there was a need for one.

25 minutes too late!!!!!!

Kurup - he sleeps well now....

(source the star online)

Morale of the story - next time you want to contest in an election - wake up early and be at the nomination centre early...!!!!!

The highly anticipated Pensiangan by-election in Sabah, Malaysia, will not materialise.

So we wait and see for the 3 simultaneous by-elections in Bukit Selambau, Kedah, Bukit Gantang, Perak and Batang Ai, Sarawak.

The judges ruled out that it was the petitioner fault in submitting his nomination paper, 25 minutes late than the stipulated time of between 9 am to 10 am.

The petitioner - Danny Andipai of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, submitted his nomination paper at 10.25 am (25 minutes late).... so i guess he really hates this song by Michael Learns to Rock.



Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup retained his Pensiangan seat he won unchallenged in the March 2008 with the Federal Court ruling in his favour to quash the September last year, Election Court ruling to declare it null and void.

The three-men bench of the Federal Court ruled that the Election Court judge Justice David Wong Dak Wah had erred in his ruling.

It was clear that under the election laws, it was candidate’s responsibility to submit their nomination papers on time between the stipulated period of 9am and 10am.

Friday’s sitting was presided by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, High Court of Malaya Chief Judge Datuk Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court judge Datuk Nik Hashim Nik Abdul Rahman.

The Federal Court also said that the returning officer Bubudan O.T. Majalu was justified in upholding the objection against the nomination papers of Parti Keadilan Rakyat candidate Danny Andipai.

”I am very happy and relieved. Now I can focus on doing my work as a deputy minister,” said Kurup, who is Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister.

Kurup had appealed against the decision of the Election Court to declare his unopposed victory in the Pensiangan parliamentary seat was null and void.

On Sept 8 last year, High Court judge Justice David Wong Dak Wah, who was sitting as an Election Court judge, quashed the outcome of the Pensiangan seat that was won uncontested by Barisan Nasional’s Kurup.

Justice Wong held that returning officer Bubudan OT Majalu had erred in overturning an Election Commission directive that PKR candidate Danny Andipai’s nomination papers be accepted though they were filed after the 10am deadline.

The judge had also ruled that the objections against Andipai’s nomination forms — on the grounds that they were not signed and that improper forms were used — were invalid.

A good night sleep indeed for Kurup tonight........