Taib so unpopular Najib has to come and help, says Anwar

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim today said that BN is obviously not confident of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud's ability to bring victory to the coalition.

This is evident, he said, as the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak himself is flying in tonight to spend the next five days campaigning.

"Never in the history of Sarawak has the federal level leaders come in to campaign like this, which shows the failure of the state government.

"(The PM's presence) in part shows that BN believes that Taib is not capable of reassuring Sarawakians to lend their support," said Anwar at a press conference in Kuching.

He added that Najib is also bringing with him resources from the federal ministries, that also puts the Election Commission in bad light.


"This is an offence," he said.

Najib will touch down in Kuching for the second time since campaigning began on Apr 6, and will only leave Sarawak next Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has also been on the campaign trail in the past few days.
In an immediate response to the opposition claims, Najib said his frequent visit to Sarawak was not unusual.
He made these visits out of his sense of responsibility as the BN chairperson and the prime minister, he added.
"Sarawak is a huge state and has 71 state seats. It takes days to cover these constituencies due to their distance," Bernama reported him as saying this afternoon.
BN not 'perintah'
Anwar, who has attracted crowds by the thousands in events in town centres across Sarawak, said that the BN top leaders' presence in the state election only proves that the coalition is in danger.

"(Najib's presence) is meant to rejuvenate a lacklustre campaign," he said.

He added that while response to Pakatan's ceramah has been encouraging, they still need to work hard particularly in the rural areas where there is still fear of going against 'perintah' (the ruler, according to local dialect), that is the BN.
"So we have to explain to them that BN is also the opposition in Selangor, Kedah, Penang and Kelantan, and that they are not always 'perintah'," he said.

Rural constituents, he said, are also unhappy over issues like land grabs and the lack of amenities but it is uncertain if this dissatisfaction will translate to votes.