GE14: Don’t be over-confident, PH Sarawak told

KUCHING: Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has advised Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak to not be over-confident with regard to its outlook for the next parliamentary election.

He made this remark when prompted for comments on PH Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s announcement on Saturday that the opposition coalition was confident of winning at least 10 parliamentary seats in the next polls.

“YB Chong may say that Pakatan Harapan is confident of winning at least 10 parliamentary seats in the next GE (general election).

“It’s always good to make prediction, but the final say is from the ‘rakyat’ (people) and voters,” he said, pointing out that PH Sarawak might lose more seats than the ones they won in the 13th general election (GE13).

“The voters are getting smarter – they know who can fare and look after them better”.

“This is reflective in the last state election where the DAP (Democratic Action Party) and Pakatan lost some of their seats to BN (Barisan Nasional).

“This will be repeated in the next parliamentary election, which is going to be held soon,” added Abdul Karim.

On Saturday, Chong, who is also Bandar Kuching MP and state DAP chairman, told reporters at a press conference that PH Sarawak was confident of winning 10 – if not more – seats in GE14.

He said the opposition coalition had done rounds of survey on the ground, with the majority of the feedback conveying the people’s dissatisfaction over the bad economy and rising cost of living.

In GE13, the opposition won six parliamentary seats in Sarawak – with DAP securing Bandar Kuching, Stampin, Sarikei, Lanang and Sibu, and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) claiming Miri.