Anwar optimistic as PKR unveils list of 48 candidates to take on Taib

PKR has announced it will contest 48 of the 71 seats in Sarawak's legislative assembly. Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was present at the press conference organised by PKR Sarawak chief Baru Bian who unveiled the much-anticipated list on Monday.
Baru himself will be contesting the Ba'kelalan seat, where speculation is rife that Prime Minister Najib Razak wants his protege Idris Jala to make a challenge for.
It is important for the BN to run down PKR as much as possible in the Sarawak polls, which political observers have already called the mother of all battles and predict will be the dirtiest of all elections in history.
PKR will be the Pakatan's torch-bearer in Sarawak and the party that will take the fight directly into Taib's den. Most of the seats PKR will contest are in rural and interior regions where Taib has long commanded.
DAP will be contesting 15 seats, almost all of which are in urban and Chinese-dominated areas. PAS plans to go for 5 seats in areas where Muslims form the larger portion of the populace.

Snap now favors BN
Already, Snap - one of Sarawak's oldest parties - has allegedly switched allegiance to the BN, their leaders enticed by BN promises of lucre and positions.
It has all but withdrawn from the Pakatan Rakyat although Anwar is careful to stress that the door will stay open if Snap decides it cannot work with the BN anymore.
“We have a major battle with BN this time around and we don't want to allow any false party to sabotage our efforts, and this is in no reference to Snap," Anwar said at the press conference on Monday.

“Since 2004, after I left prison, I've never felt this kind of reception and sentiment on the ground. There's this mood of growing acceptance to Pakatan and no one can deny that this is the first time in the history of Sarawak that BN is facing a formidable challenge."
Malaysia Chronicle appends below the full list of PKR candidates and their professional backgrounds: