‘Splendid win’ in Balingian by-election endorsement for BN — Awang Tengah

MUKAH: The Balingian state byelection is a very important one for the Barisan Nasional ( BN), Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) party senior vice-president Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said yesterday.

“A splendid win will allow the BN government to continue with its usual sterling leadership and development policies for the people’s benefits.

“It will greatly allow all planned development projects to be carried out smoothly,” he said before presenting 530 land titles to 7,261 recipients from five traditional kampungs here.

Awang Tengah, who is also Sarawak Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment, said a win would also show the people were indeed grateful to former Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud for his many contributions.

Taib, who is now the Yang diPertua Negeri, had done much to help the people of Balingian when he was its state assemblyman, he said.

On the other hand if the BN could retain the seat, he said, it would allow the new Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem to continue with the government’s good policies for the people.

When met by reporters later, Awang Tengah said although it was the general consensus that the BN would have no problem in retaining the Melanau majority seat, its supporters and workers must continue to work hard.

“As a matter of fact we in the BN never take any election and byelection lightly. We cannot take things for granted and we should not be complacent,” he said, adding that the preparation on the ground was going as planned and BN was now quite well prepared.

He said Balingian and Mukah were places of great economic potential.

“Mukah, for instance, is the administrative centre for the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy ( SCORE) with many economic activities, including energy intensive industries, being planned besides those in the agriculture and aquaculture sectors,” he said.

He said Balingian also had huge reserves of coal and vast tracts of land.