PKR pits shy underdog against S'wak strongman

The story of the David and Goliath has never been as personified in Sarawak elections as the current contest in Balingian, which sees the meek PKR candidate Suriati Abdullah pitting herself against long-time chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud on his own turf.
At least physically, the word "meek" is not an overstatement to describe Suriati. Standing at a diminutive five feet, she is dwarfed by her numerous PKR minders flanking her.

Not too far from her is her husband, keeping a close eye on his wife, who is on her first foray into politics.

Though it will be an almost impossible task for her to defeat the man who just celebrated his 30th anniversary as head of government in March, she is banking on her personal contacts to throw support her way.

In fact, she even claims to have had first-hand experience with what she called “Taib's oppressive regime” back in 2005.

She was then a foodstall operator, owning and managing a warung called 'Suriati's Cafe' in Selangau - an hour's drive away from Balingian - when the state government unceremoniously tore her stall down.

"They said that it was state land, despite me holding a land title.

"They didn't care anyway, and bulldozed my stall. They told me they wanted to build a park or some lake garden but to this day, nothing was built on that land.

"They didn't pay me a single sen and I lost my source of income,” she lamented to Malaysiakini on the sidelines of the nominations yesterday.

Since then, Suriati - known as 'Su' to her friends - now runs a sundry shop, while her husband deals in antiques.

But Suriati knows the daunting task that lies ahead of her.

'If I was scared, I might as well stay home'

In fact, her demeanour during nominations before this reporter approached her may not even inspire confidence as she frequently shied away from the press and speaks only demurely when her handlers were not around.

This is of course, in contrast with the flamboyant Taib.

Though himself barely a few inches taller than Suriati, the chief minister of 30 years would have learnt not a little about charisma in his longtime stint as a politician. It is said that his second marriage to a Lebanese 44 years his junior has invigorated him even more.

"Of course, I cannot compare myself with Taib. He is one of the richest men in the world," said Suriati.

"But I have a strong will and support from the people I know," she added.

Apart from Taib, Suriati also faces former deputy education minister and independent candidate Salleh Jafaruddin.

In the last state election in 2006, Taib won with a whopping 5,726 majority while his opponent from PKR only garnered 667 votes.

With 11,792 voters, the state seat has about 70% of Melanau voters, 17% Iban voters and 13.2% Chinese voters.

The state of Sarawak will go to the polls on April 16 after 10-day campaigning period.

Suriati said that her family was initially against the idea of her contesting, with them worried about their daughter's safety.

"But they later came around and now I have their full support," she said.

Though shy at first, she later confidently said that she was not afraid of the contest.

"If I'm scared, I might as well stay at home and not contest.

"Sarawakians are now very fed up of Taib and what he is doing to them. I just hope to be their voice," she said softly.

And facing two heavyweights for the seat, she may very well have to speak louder now.