15 nomination papers taken so far in Ba Kelalan

Ladin Atok

LAWAS: An eyebrow raising 15 nomination papers have been snapped up in Ba Kelalan, which is so far is expected to see a three-cornered fight in the 11th state election.

The number of nomination papers taken was confirmed by Ba Kelalan Returning Officer Ladin Atok when met at Lawas Airport today (April 21).

He said preparations were proceeding smoothly and that the election machinery was ready to face the challenge of conducting the election in the constituency.

Barisan Nasional (BN) would be fielding Willie Liaw of SPDP to take on Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian in Ba Kelalan; the second such encounter between both candidates.

Baru won with a narrow margin in the last state election in a straight fight after Willie was named at the eleventh hour as the replacement for incumbent Datuk Nelson Balang Rining.

Following the resolve to wrest back Ba Kelalan from the opposition in the coming state election, there was a scramble among eight aspiring BN candidates from Ba Kelalan.

All aspirants then met Chief Minister and state BN chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem in a closed door meeting at Limbang Government Rest house on April 2 this year, where they reportedly pledged to support his choice later.

The eight were SPDP former state assemblyman and SPDP Ba Kelalan chairman Datuk Nelson Balang Rining, Barry Sigar and Sam Laya, president-nominated Fabian Sigar, Willie Liaw, Martin Labo, Stevenson Satu Buas and former Bukit Mas MP Mutang Tagal.

Five were lawyers by training while the rest were businessmen.

Adenan has picked Willie but there have been rumblings on the ground from camps aligned to the disappointed aspiring candidates.

According to sources, some aspiring candidates have ambitions to contest as Independent candidates against BN and PKR.

 

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