IT is easy to notice that Tan Sri Adenan Satem has been trying hard to win back the hearts and minds of the Chinese community since becoming Sarawak chief minister two years ago.
Cracking occasional jokes with his smattering of Hokkien, announcing frequent allocations for Chinese schools and giving recognition to United Examination Certificate holders to work in the civil service are some telling signs.
He makes it a point to underscore that the Chinese “brothers and sisters” in Sarawak are not pendatang (immigrants), and that they are just as Malaysian — and loyal — as anyone else.
This is why most of Barisan Nasional’s campaign topics will leverage on Adenan’s popularity and his focus on bringing reforms comes renewed interest from the Chinese community.
Call it a political strategy or a sincere gesture; Adenan is hoping that the Chinese community will first try him out, telling them there was no reason for them to turn their back on BN, as they did five years ago.
The BN-led state government was dealt a slap from the community in at least 12 constituencies, a trend that followed the swing in protest votes in the 12th General Election in 2008.
Only two Chinese-majority seats were captured in 2011, Bawang Assan and Senadin, but barely. To assert this, Senadin incumbent Datuk Lee Kim Shin, from the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), managed to defeat his opponent by only 58 votes.
This time around, there are 16 Chinese-majority seats in Sarawak, of which two are held by BN, one by PKR, another by an independent, and the rest by DAP.
But, has anything changed since then?
For one, Adenan has reached an impressive 67 per cent approval rating among Sarawak Chinese, which is by no means a negative sign for BN.
His likability, prestige and commitment towards the development of Sarawak may persuade some Chinese voters to think twice about voting for the opposition.
For most Chinese living in semi-rural constituencies, for example, development and education are of the utmost importance, and they protest that they have not been given much-needed attention,
unlike the many rural BN strongholds that have seen transformations.
Ling, who runs a stall selling kampua, a popular type of
noodle dish in Miri, said it was the prices of goods that concerned him and most people in urban areas, where the Chinese make up the majority.
“Who do we blame for the traffic congestion and fuel prices? Our YBs? The government? I tend to think it’s the government that can effectively deal with this, while
our YBs only shout about it,” said the former oil and gas sub-contractor.
The tagline for a BN Chinese candidate in Sibu, which reads, “Now is the time to bring growth and opportunities back to you and your family”, seems to be telling constituents not to vote with their emotions, but based on reality.
The limited progress brought in by their DAP assemblymen may spur them to return their support to BN, the coalition with enough experience to bring about real change.
One such constituency is Dudong, located in the centre of Sibu. BN candidate Datuk Tiong Thai King, from SUPP, was narrowly defeated by 317 votes in the last election.
A slight swing in Chinese votes may prove enough for the four-term member of parliament to wrest the seat back from long-time DAP rival Yap Hoi Liong.
Another hot seat in Sibu is Bawang Assan, where BN candidate Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, from the United People’s Party, (UPP) is the incumbent.
However, the unresolved conflict between SUPP and its breakaway party, UPP, could throw a spanner in the works.
Both parties have had three years to work out their differences, but their unending dispute over seat allocations could not only make sabotage a real threat, but also benefit DAP.
However, DAP’s squabble with supposed ally PKR may cause disillusionment among Chinese voters in other closely contested seats.
In the newly-created Batu Kitang seat in Kuching, for example, DAP’s Abdul Aziz Isa is facing opposition from multiple fronts, including PKR, BN and two independent candidates.
BN’s Lo Khere Chiang, and other candidates like him, stand to
gain the most out of the DAP-PKR spat.
DAP also seems to have forgotten history by once again overestimating Chinese voters’ support.
In efforts to portray itself as a multiracial party, DAP, in 2014, fielded Dyana Sofya to contest in Teluk Intan, a Chinese-majority seat, only to lose to Gerakan’s Datuk Mah Siew Keong.
As far as predictions go, BN stands a real chance of wining back a few lost seats in Chinese-majority areas.
But in some areas, particularly in Kuching and other major cities, it may just need more of Team Adenan’s winning formula to bring DAP to its knees.