The Barisan Nasional should be able to win with a comfortable majority in the April 16 Sarawak election, former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin said.

“I think BN will win, so you can sleep in peace,” he said, answering a question from the audience at a public lecture at Universiti Tun Abdul Razak here yesterday.

Daim later told the New Straits Times that the following scenario would raise BN’s chances of securing a big win:
– The chief minister keeps his word about retiring after the election;

– New and clean candidates are fielded in the election; and,

– Bumiputera voters are united.
Daim, however, said the opposition was likely to increase its seat count.

At present, BN controlled 63 out of 71 state seats in Sarawak. DAP has six seats while Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Parti Cinta Malaysia have one seat each.

Earlier this week, Daim had said the ruling coalition would do better in the next general election.
Before the 2008 general election, Daim had correctly predicted that Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor would join Kelantan in the opposition fold.

In an interview with a Malay daily last week, Daim was quoted as saying that the mood had changed in the past three years and he expected BN to remain in power.

At the public lecture, he said that Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s decision to step down after the state polls was the right move. He has been holding the top state post for 30 years.

“No leader should overstay. You see what happened to Hosni Mubarak (former Eygptian president) and in Tunisia.”

Daim said failure to find a suitable successor should not be the reason to stay on as the matter should be left to the party to decide.