The scene at Kampung Long Litong, Trusan Laut in Ba Kelalan constituency.
LAWAS: Another neck to neck battle to the finish line is in store for the Ba Kelalan hot seat between SPDP’s Willie Liau and PKR Sarawak chief Baru Bian in the Lun Bawang heartland and the results could go either way this time round.
Both sides are confident of winning by a thin margin but neither BN nor PKR election campaigners are claiming an outright victory.
Ba Kelalan is considered a black area for the BN which has thrown in its top guns including its top two national leaders Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as well as a coterie of BN leaders from both federal and state levels and even from neighbouring Sabah.
Baru has relied on his army of loyalists and PKR leaders as well as support from Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah for added firepower against the BN election machinery which was boosted by neighbouring Bukit Sari after its incumbent Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan was returned unopposed on nomination day.
This seat has 7,388 registered voters and PKR Sarawak chief Baru Bian wrested it from the BN in 2011 by defeating Willie with a 473 majority.
PKR sources on the ground said the incumbent had a slight edge but BN campaigners disagreed and believed that their candidate was slightly ahead.
“We can probably win by a few hundred votes,” said a Lun Bawang professional with the BN camp who declined to be named.
His prediction was different from political analyst Universiti Malaya Professor Awang Azman Awang Pawi who claimed that BN did not stand a chance of winning here.
A reliable source said it would be too close to call and the actual results would only be known this Saturday when the votes are counted.
Baru, renowned for fighting NCR land disputes in court and a leader of the SIB church has continued to raise religious, state rights, NCR land and other issues against BN’s well-oiled campaign machinery.
The BN has called on the electorate to reject the Opposition which has failed to bring about the development needed for this rural constituency sharing borders with Sabah, East Kalimantan and Brunei.
The pothole-riddled road from Long Luping to Ba Kelalan villages is in dire need of repair, and Zahid, in his visit to Buduk Nur village said he would help seek funds for this and other projects if Willie was elected.
SPDP president Dato Seri Tong King Sing in his colourful speech at Long Semadoh said locals could look for him if Willie failed to serve them well if elected. Najib approved RM 35 million for SMK Long Semadoh and RM 5.5 million for 110 churches and chapels.
Awang Tengah , who is also the caretaker Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment and Minister of Public Utilities, pledged to ensure that development would flow Ba Kelalan’s way if BN won.
PKR has been quietly confident throughout the campaign, believing another narrow victory is within grasp as they furiously counter the awesome onslaught of BN heavyweights.
May 7 will be a day of reckoning for both Willie and Baru. It is a matter of political survival in the hands of their community.