KUCHING, May 7: The opposition has claimed that they have been sabotaged following a blackout in Selangau just right before Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate for Selangau Baru Bian was about to address voters.
This happened when Baru was scheduled to speak at a ceramah in Sekuau, in front of Dewan Sekuau. The power supply was disrupted, with no street lights on and the surrounding eateries left in darkness, except for a few on the left side.
Relating the incident in a press statement today, Baru said his team managed to get power supply for their loud speakers from one of the eateries that had power and the ‘ceramah’ started at 7.15pm.
“A few people spoke before I was called upon to speak. Lo and behold, as soon as I went up to speak, the power supply was disconnected and we were left in darkness,” said the PKR state chairman and Be’kalalan assemblyman.
After two calls to the SESCO hotline, Baru was informed that the blackout was due to a “wire-touching problem”.
“This cowardly and rude act of sabotage is a reflection of the fear of the BN (Barisan Nasional) of legitimate challenges to their positions, and their arrogance stemming from years of playing ‘towkay’,” he said, adding that BN is subjecting the people to intimidation and fear by sabotaging his event.
He said it was indeed a tragedy for Sarawakians to witness the dishonourable act and dirty tactics, and urged BN leaders to condemn such acts in order to give the impression of free and fair elections,
However, he expected BN leaders to deny any knowledge of this act of sabotage, because years of abuse of power by BN have caused them to reject fair competition on a level playing field.
“Like the BN in Semenanjung Malaysia, BN in Sarawak has lost its moral compass, and needs to be given time off from governing Sarawak to reflect on their eroding integrity and to reset their value system,” he added.
Meanwhile, Baru welcomed the announcement of a RM57 million allocation for the upgrading of Selangau Bazaar.
“The timing of the announcement on the eve of polling does raise questions about the sincerity and motives of the state government. Nevertheless, I am glad that Selangau is finally getting some attention and I would advise the people of Selangau to voice their grouses loud and clear so that the windfall may continue in the next two days before polling day.
“Clearly, the BN parties have to keep on making their sweet promises because there is not much achievement to show in Selangau after holding the seat for decades; therefore they are unable to campaign on their track record,” he added.
Baru faces a straight fight with BN-Parti Rakyat Sarawak (BN-PRS) candidate Rita Insol for this Iban-majority consituency. — DayakDaily
