MINISTER in the Chief Minister’s Office Talib Zulpilip is the biggest casualty in the election for a vice-president post in Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu’s (PBB).

Talib, one of two incumbents defending their position and who picked up the highest number of votes in the 2013 party election, picked up the least among the seven candidates this time around in the race for one of four posts in the Bumiputera wing – the Malay and Melanau wing – of the second largest party in the ruling Barisan Nasional.

The Sarawak government ombudsman, who picked up 780 votes in the 2013 triennial delegates conference, picked up just 329 in today’s vote today at the Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching.

The other incumbent, Assistant Minister of Coastal Roads Julaihi Narawi who finished second to Talip in 2013, finished at the top with 770 votes.

It is the wins of a couple of two young upstarts that caught the eyes of some political observers.

The victories of Annuar Rapaee, the state assistant minister of education and technological research, whose 764 votes is the second highest, and Abdul Karim Hamzah, the minister for tourism, arts, culture, youth and sports, have been hailed as a “vote for young, aggressive and vocal politicians”.

Karim, who was famously had a row with Tourism Minister Nazri Aziz over the tourism tax last year, picked 698 votes to just squeeze through.

The other winner is Assistant Minister of Rural Electricity Abdul Rahman Junaidi who picked up 719 votes.

University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) political scientist Jeniri Amir told The Malaysian Insight the election of Annuar and Karim to the vice-presidency showed that the political landscape in PBB is changing.

He said the election showed that delegates no longer vote for candidates to represent the various regions or to satisfy the wishes of senior party members.

“They voted for very vocal young leaders who can articulate the government policies well and who can face the opposition, particularly DAP assemblymen and stand their ground inside and outside the state legislative assembly,” Jeniri said.

“They (Annuar and Karim) represent the cream of those crop of young PBB leaders.”

Annuar, the Nangka assemblyman from Sibu and Karim, the Asajaya assemblyman in rural Samarahan, have often sparred with DAP leaders in the assembly.

Talip, a mild mannered, soft spoken man, and much older than Annuar and Talip represents the opposite of Annuar and Karim.

“I don’t think the Jepak assemblyman did anything wrong,” Jeniri said.

He believed the defeat could boil down to his disposition.

“Talip is a soft spoken, humble person. That does not seem to fit in what PBB members want now. The brash and loudest are noticed and voted in.

“The delegates want change. They want new blood,” he said.

The two other candidates who fell in the election are Assistant Minister for Agriculture Abdul Rahman Ismail (481 votes) and the Assistant Minister Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Len Talif Salleh (481).

Prime Minister Najib Razak declared open the TDC earlier today. – February 10, 2018.