BN's landslide win at State election is important event in Sarawak this year

Barisan Nasional was given a big mandate when the state government under the administration of Tan Sri Adenan Satem won 72 of the 82 State Assembly seats.

The event showed that the Adenan Team was well-received, the policies of Chief Minister Adenan in looking after the lot of the state and its people were well-received.

The victory was all the sweeter because it was helmed for the first time by Adenan after taking over from Tan Sri (now Tun) Abdul Taib Mahmud who became the Yang Dipertua Negeri.

The support from the federal government via the devolution of power and the commitment of implementing the toll-free RM27 billion Pan-Borneo mega project was also among the factors contributing to the big success of BN.

After going through the state election, the people of Sarawak were waiting for the general election, maybe next year.

"The momentum of BN's win is expected to continue at the coming general election," said Semop State Assemblyman Abdullah Saidol.

In Sarawak, 25 of the 31 parliamentary areas currently were in the hands of BN, and Abdullah was confident that Sarawak BN could add three or four more parliamentary seats at the coming general election.

He said much efforts must be made by BN especially in fulfilling the promises made if they wished to continue to woo the hearts of the Sarawak voters who were already comfortable with BN.

In the hustle and bustle of the state elections, Sarawak was shocked by the helicopter mishap at Batang Lupar which killed five people on May 5.

They were Sungai Besar Member of Parliament and Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon, Kuala Kangsar Member of Parliament Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad, Noriah's husband Asmuni Abdullah, Noriah's personal bodyguard Ahmad Sobri Harun, the ministry's secretary general Datuk Dr Sundaran Annamalai and Filipino pilot Captain Rudolf Rex Ragas.

In continuing to champion the welfare of the people of Sarawak, the Sarawak budget for next year provided more allocation for development (RM5.9 billion) over operation expenditure (RM2.2 billion).

Adenan's administration also provided more than 50 per cent of the budget next year, namely, RM2.9 billion for the rural areas in line with the effort of the state government to close the development gap between the urban and rural areas.