LUBOK ANTU, 6 April 2009: The Election Commission (EC) has transported 11 ballot boxes, four by air and the rest by river, to the remote areas of the Batang Ai state constituency inaccessible by road, ahead of tomorrow’s by-election. Sarawak EC director Takun Sunggah said today that rain over the last few days had left […]
Batang Ai
Three by-elections cost EC RM1.5 mln
KUALA LUMPUR, 6 April 2009: The Election Commission (EC) is spending about RM1.5 million to conduct the three by-elections tomorrow, in the Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency in Perak and the state constituencies of Bukit Selambau in Kedah and Batang Ai in Sarawak, the Dewan Negara was told today. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk […]
Which way in Batang Ai?
LUBOK ANTU, 5 April 2009: It is now almost time to wrap up the campaigning in Batang Ai, but the precious days before Tuesday are still being milked to the fullest by both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). The BN’s flagbearer is engineer Malcolm Mussen Lamoh, 49, who is taking on […]
Mafrel: Irregularities in by-elections
By Shanon ShahSUNGAI PETANI, 5 Apr 2009: Election watchdog Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel) have found irregularities in the electoral roll for the three upcoming by-elections. Additionally, Mafrel’s findings of doubtful voters in the Bukit Selambau by-elections tally closely with estimates given by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) last week. Mafrel’s electoral roll verification (ERV) exercise […]
The last Rajah’s battlefield
By Wong Chin HuatPolice on guard during the Ijok by-election (pic by Danny Lim) THE 7 April Batang Ai by-election actually has more similarities with the 2007 by-election for the Selangor state seat of Ijok than to the other two by-elections in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Serambau that will happen on the same day. Batang Ai is certainly […]
Difficult terrain at Batang Ai for PKR
By Sim Kwang YangTHE hand-to-hand combat has begun in earnest for the 7 April 2009 Batang Ai by-election between the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). It is a torturous and expensive battle for both the contesting parties. Lodged under the shadow of the mountain range that separates Sarawak from the Kalimantan side of Indonesia, Batang […]
No candidates have withdrawn
By Sharon TanBUKIT GANTANG, 2 April 2009: Deputy Election Commission chair[person] Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said no candidate has [withdrawn] from any of the three by-elections when the deadline for withdrawal ended at midnight yesterday. Read more here. This article first appeared on 2 April 2009 in www.theedgemalaysia.com under the title No candidates withdrew in three […]
Battling over land rights in Batang Ai
By Deborah LohFOOD on the table and a roof over one’s head — these are key issues in almost any election in rural Malaysia. But in the Sarawak hinterland, it’s a more emotional subject as food and shelter are derived from a hereditary source, the forest, which has been fought over by native communities and the state […]
BN’s Malcolm Mussen likes No.9
LUBOK ANTU, 29 March 2009: The Barisan Nasional candidate for the Batang Ai state by-election, Malcolm Mussen Lamoh, finds great comfort in the number nine. “I’m 49 years old, born in 1959, resigned from government service on the 19th (of March). The nomination day is today, March 29 while Batang Ai is state constituency number […]
Prohibition in Btg Ai on non-contesting parties
LUBOK ANTU, 29 March 2009: Police will tighten the enforcement of election regulations in the Batang Ai state seat which prohibits parties not contesting in the by-election from putting up flags or posters during the campaigning period. Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohmad Salleh told reporters here, only campaign paraphernalia such as flags, placards, banners and […]