consists of non-Muslims. Most of the seats saw two corner fights with the agreement of the opposition on not contesting against each other. The number of independent candidates also dropped from the last election where only 15 seats saw the participation of the independent candidates. Campaign Barisan Nasional The BN government lifted the ban of helicopter flights to ease the dissemination of manifestos in the rural areas. Sarawak BN mainly campaigned on theme of "development and stability" with messages such as "A Peaceful, Progressive and Prosperous Sarawak". BN put heavy emphasis on rural development in terms on agricultural expansion such as palm oil, pepper, and cocoa. It is stressed that continued rural development is depended upon the rural voters' political loyalty. For example, chief minister Taib Mahmud had spoken the following words to the voters at Bekenu: Sarawak government allocated projects under the SALCRA agency (Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority) in rural areas. Rural Growth Centres (RGC) were also opened throughout Sarawak. These centres were aimed to "create job opportunities and income". A total of RM 2.12 billion (US$0.57 billion) would be allocated exclusively for rural development. BN also linked Ninth Malaysia Plan to Sarawak development. The Malaysian federal government allocated RM 13.4 billion (US$3.62 billion) to win support in this campaign. For example, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Peter Chin announced his plans of boosting cocoa and pepper production in Sarawak. Awang Tengah, a senior politician from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) highlighated the RM400 million (US$108 million) allocation for Rural Electrification Scheme (RES) in Sarawak. Samy Vellu, Malaysian Minister of Works announced allocations for upgrading Mambong-Sejingkat road (Kuching), Miri-Lutong road (Miri), Limbang-Lawas road, and an elevated road in Miri. A PBB leader named Abdul Wahab Aziz stressed that Mukah and Balingian only got development when Taib Mahmud represented Balingian since 2001. Since the discovery of coal in Mukah, a coal power plant was built in Balingian, an oil palm plantation was planted in Mukah, and a deep sea fishing port was built at Tanjung Manis. In Ba'kelalan (near Indonesian border of Kalimantan), BN candidate Nelson Balang emphasised regarding the risk of them being left behind for 10 to 20 years if they do not vote for BN in the next five years. The issue of connectivity of Ba'kelalan to other towns in Sarawak had also been highlighted. A road project was also politicised in Bekenu (near Miri).