‘BN might lose some seats’

by Jacob Achoi and Anasathia Jenis. Posted on December 10, 2010, Friday

Adenan warns BN candidates might be defeated in next polls if they rest on their laurels

Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem

KUCHING: Special Advisor in the Chief Minister’s Department Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem on Wednesday night warned Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates that some of them could be defeated in the next general election.
He said long gone were the days when BN candidates had easy rides against their opponents.
Explaining that the peoples’ mindsets had changed tremendously coupled with easy access to information, he pointed out that BN candidates could no longer afford to rest on their laurels.
“They must stay close to the people and attend to their needs,” he said.
The people, he said, were also not as appreciative as before when given government assistance because they believe that it was the government’s job to look after them.
“Therefore, the BN cannot take voters for granted. Nowadays people don’t vote along party lines, so politicians need to talk to them convincingly. At the same time they must listen to the grouses of the people,” the Tanjung Datu assemblyman said.
Adenan was addressing a Bidayuh Graduates Association (BGA) pre-Christmas gathering, hosted by Bengoh assemblyman Dr Jerip Susil at Sarawak Golf Club here.
Politicians, he said, must also be willing to listen to criticisms because those who criticised wanted to be heard.
The personalities of BN candidates would also be taken into account by voters and could be a contributing factor in their defeat or victory, said Adenan.
He said there were cases of candidates not supported by their own party members who disliked them.
In these cases, the members abstained from voting for them, or they simply voted for the opposition.
Adenan totally agreed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who when addressing BN Convention 2010 recently, called on leaders of BN component parties to discard four ‘ailments’ – delusion, amnesia, inertia and arrogance.
He said the state BN was working towards that.
“In summary, we (BN) will take care of our weaknesses. Give us time to change and we will change, but it will take time,” said Adenan.
He believed that the state BN had one strong point – bringing development to rural areas which still need basic facilities and amenities.