REPORTING FROM GROUND ZERO!
DAILY UPDATES FROM GROUND ZERO IN THIS BLOG:http://seapcpco.blogspot.com
Report by Tan Jo Hann, KOMAS Executive Director
The Malaysian Eastern state of Sarawak on North Borneon island will go to pools on April 16th. 2011, with 213 candidates fighting for 71 state assembly seats. Some are 3, 4, 5, or even 6 corner fights. This is a historical moment for Sarawak State elections because in the past decade since independence the state has never seen so many candidates fighting for these seats. There is also a strong challenge to wrestle control over the governance of the oil and timer rich state from the opposition front under the umbrella of Pakatan rakyat (PR).
Barisan National component parties and their allies in the Sarawak State continues to be led by the controversial Taib Mohammad, who has been the head of state for the past 30 years since 1981. He is also entanggled in many allegations of graft and corrupt practices especially involving the draining of the state's rich natural resources such as native land, oil, gas and timber.
Today the state remains one of the poorest in the country with little more than 50% consisting of the Dayak indigenous peoples, 26% Chinese population, 20% Melayu melanau population.
Since the campaign fever started to kick off on April 6th, many organisations, individuals and party members from both sides of the divide have flocked to the "land of the hornbill" engaged in the intensive and heated campaign trails.
PUSAT KOMAS, Malaysian human rights organisation has also fielded our very own "Anak Sarawak" Evelyne Tawan and Kath Livan to the field to monitor the activities and to document the incidence of abuse irregularities and generally to report the stories from ground zero!
Together with MEO-NET (Malaysian Election Observers Network), they will be delivering daily accounts of their findings from Miri, Bintulu and other parts of Sarawak into this blog.
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