BN to focus on urban seats
THE focus of the parliamentary election in Sarawak will mainly be in the urban areas as Barisan Nasional has set its sights on recapturing three seats from Pakatan Harapan.
Barisan won 25 of the 31 parliamentary seats in the last general election and wants to win 28 seats this time. Of the Pakatan-held seats, five went to DAP and one to PKR. All are urban Chinesemajority seats.
Only parliamentary seats are at stake in Sarawak as the state election was held in 2016, which Barisan won by a landslide thanks largely to the popularity of the late chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.
Based on the state election results, political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Jeniri Amir from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak feels that Barisan’s target of 28 seats is achievable.
“The question now is not the rural seats, which will almost certainly go to Barisan. The main issue is whether Barisan can win some of the Chinese-majority seats in urban areas.
“Looking at the voting pattern in the last state election, especially in Sibu and Sarikei, I think there’s a good chance for Barisan to win these seats,” he said.
In the state polls, Barisan took back Repok and Meradong, the two state seats in the Sarikei parliamentary constituency, from DAP.
In the state seats under Sibu, Barisan increased its majority in defending Bawang Assan and Nangka while reducing DAP’s majority in Pelawan. Both Sarikei and Sibu were won by DAP in the 2013 general election.
Prof Jeniri also noted that Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Barisan’s Chinese-based component party, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with its splinter group United People’s Party (UPP).
Both parties, whose clash over
seats in the state election was addressed through the fielding of candidates from UPP as direct Barisan candidates, have agreed to take steps towards reconciliation and to work together in this general election.
“The urban Chinese-majority seats can be won by Barisan so long as SUPP and UPP can set aside their differences and settle their political infighting.
“They need to bury the hatchet because the Chinese community would like to see these two parties collaborate in order to win seats. Who knows? The Prime Minister may appoint a Chinese MP from Sarawak in the Cabinet if Barisan wins the election at the federal level,” Prof Jeniri said.
A strong showing by the state Barisan will also strengthen Sarawak’s position with regard to reclaiming its rights under the Malaysia Agreement from the Federal Government.
“With a big win, we will have the bargaining power to get our rights back,” Chief Minister and state Barisan chairman Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said on March 26 when he launched the state Barisan Youth’s election machinery.
Prof Jeniri expects Sarawak’s rights to be a major issue in the election campaign by Barisan and Pakatan.
“It will be interesting to see to what extent both sides can convince voters that they can fulfil their promises on this issue,” he said, adding that the state Barisan would come up with its own manifesto to tackle state rights
along with other issues such as rural development.
Pakatan has also drawn up a manifesto for Sarawak which includes respecting the Malaysia Agreement and restoring Sarawak’s rights.
Stampin DAP Youth secretary Kelvin Yii says the party would “give Sarawak 20% oil and gas royalty and 50% of the tax revenue collected in the state.”
“On top of that, we will give education and healthcare autonomy to Sarawak,” he adds.
He says that Pakatan’s primary goal in the election is to hold on to its six seats and then to see whether it can win up to eight to 10 seats.
“A few seats were won marginally by Barisan in the last general election. We’re not naive to think that we’ll have an easy ride. Historically, Sarawak has been a safe deposit for Barisan due to various reasons, including demographics,” he says.
“The state election results showed a resurgence of support for SUPP. This was due to the Adenan factor. He was a popular figure and a lot of votes swung back to Barisan, including in Chinese areas.”
However, Yii says that sentiments in state and federal elections were different and voters would consider national issues such as the Goods and Services Tax and cost of living.
“Our campaign will be a hybrid of national and local issues. The public needs to understand how national issues affect Sarawak and Sarawakians,” says Yii.
“State rights, for example, is a national issue as they were eroded because of federal policies.”
Although only parliamentary seats will be contested in Sarawak, this will still be an important election to watch.
“I think Sarawak is going to contribute the majority of seats to Barisan,” says Prof Jeniri.
For all that Sarawak looks set to remain a Barisan stronghold, tough battles could yet be fought in the urban areas.