‘BN not worried about issues raised by opposition’

KUCHING: Barisan Nasional is not worried about issues raised by the opposition in the Tanjong Datu by- election as they will be addressed by the state government.

PBB director of operations Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said issues regarding native customary right ( NCR) land and devolution of power and greater autonomy were close to the hearts of the state BN leaders under Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.

“NCR land issue is close to the hearts of all of us including myself. So it’s not just the concerns of the opposition especially by PBRS Baru,” Wan Junaidi said when contacted in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Likewise, the issue of devolution of power and greater autonomy which were raised by STAR, had been taken seriously since the time of former chief minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

“We are aware of the issues raised by both PBDS Baru and STAR in the by- election regarding greater autonomy and NCR land issues. For that, the chief minister himself has mentioned that he would take both issues seriously and not because the opposition parties brought them up in this by- election.”

On a related issue, Wan Junaidi, who is also Santubong MP, said the slow pace of campaigning at the initial stage was because BN machinery had to get the necessary permits from both the police and the Lundu District Council to organise gatherings and (ceramah) talk.

“We are doing things properly and we cannot just be doing things without proper planning,” he said, adding that PBB leaders had been asked to visit all 37 PBB sub-branches in the constituency.

Wan Junaidi believed that BN could garner more votes this time around as the machinery had been running smoothly.

“In the last state election, the late Tok Nan was able to garner 92.2 per cent of votes and we hope this time around we can improve that percentage,” he said.

In the by- election, Adenan’s widow Datin Patinggi Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu is facing PBDS Baru candidate Rapelson Richard Hamit and STAR candidate Johnny Aput.

Tanjong Datu has a total of 9,957 registered voters with Malays forming the majority with 5,498 voters, followed by Ibans with 1,763 voters; Chinese (1,646 voters) and the Bidayuhs (1,050 voters).

Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi who is also Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, disclosed that all the state component parties such as SUPP, PRS and SPDP had been moving around to assist in the campaign.

“SUPP president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian has gone to the ground on Tuesday and even visited Lundu town. So too are PRS and SPDP leaders who have been reaching out to their own supporters in Tanjong Datu. This is how we work as a team,” he said.

He added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would be coming to Lundu tomorrow (Friday morning) while Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was present during nomination on Feb 4.