Najib鈥檚 team won Sarawak, not Adenan, asserts analyst
It was Prime Minister Najib Razak鈥檚 team, and not Adenan Satem鈥檚, that really won the Sarawak election for Barisan Nasional, said academician James Chin.
鈥淏arisan was very effective in rural areas.
鈥淚t was Team Najib and the federal Cabinet, not Adenan, who did the work,鈥 Chin said at a public lecture at 糖心原创 today.
鈥淭he prime minister and senior Cabinet members were crucial in some areas, such as Tasik Biru.鈥
In Tasik Biru, BN鈥檚 Henry Harry Jinep beat DAP鈥檚 Mordi Bimol with a 1,288 majority after securing 6,922 votes in the May 7 state election.
Chin said the government had a great advantage in terms of their machinery and helicopters, which allowed them to visit five longhouses in a day.
The Opposition candidates, on the other hand, he explained, could only travel by boat and only visit two longhouses at most in a day.
On-the-spot grants, he opined, were also very effective in swaying the fence-sitters.
鈥淚nfrastructure and money equals votes.鈥
In the lecture, titled 鈥淭he 2016 Sarawak Elections: Team Adenan and Other Stories鈥, Chin also said that the Sarawak chief minister won because he had addressed the key issues raised by the Opposition.
鈥淎denan took away key issues from the Opposition, such as 鈥楽arawak for Sarawakians鈥, 鈥楰eep Umno Out.鈥
鈥淗e also has a populist image of the classic Sarawak gentleman, who is both liberal and multiracial.
鈥淭he 鈥楪ive Team Adenan A Chance鈥 movement had an emotional engagement.鈥
Some foreign observers noted that it was the 鈥淎denan Factor鈥 that led BN to the landslide victory in the May 7 election.鈥 May 13, 2016.
