Poised for a strong showing in S’wak

Analysts expect Barisan to maintain or improve its record in the state

KUCHING: On the back of a landslide victory in the 2016 state election, Sarawak Barisan Nasional appears poised for another strong performance in the general election.

Buoyed by the popularity of the late chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem, Barisan won 72 of 82 seats in the state polls, including wresting back five Chinese-majority seats from DAP.

Political analysts expect a similar showing in the parliamentary election, with Barisan to maintain or improve its record from the 2013 election when it won 25 of 31 seats. Of the remaining six seats, five went to DAP and one to PKR.

“Sarawak is definitely still going to be Barisan’s fixed deposit.

“The best-case scenario for the Opposition would be that they hold on to their six urban seats,” Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Assoc Prof Dr Jeniri Amir said.

According to him, the state Pakatan Harapan’s target of 10 seats was “really ambitious”.

“In fact, there’s a big possibility that Barisan can win back at least two seats, Sibu and Sarikei, from Pakatan,” he said.

Jeniri said the large number of rural seats was also in Barisan’s favour.

“Rural voters’ main concern is bread-and-butter issues and they believe that Barisan can implement development projects.”

Twenty-three of Sarawak’s 31 parliamentary seats are considered rural or semi-rural.

However, Jeniri cautioned that internal conflict within Barisan could lead to sabotage if it remained unresolved.

In the 2016 state polls, candidates from United People’s Party (UPP), the splinter group of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), were fielded as direct Barisan candidates to address the tussle for Chinesemajority seats.

UPP was formed in 2014 when four assemblymen and their supporters quit SUPP over a leadership dispute.

Both parties were set to face a similar feud over seats traditionally allocated to SUPP, until Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg announced last Sunday that the state Barisan would not be fielding direct candidates.

On Friday, both SUPP and UPP parties took the first step towards reuniting when they signed a memorandum of understanding, under which they also agreed to collaborate in the parliamentary election.

The MoU also paves the way for UPP candidates to contest on SUPP’s ticket.

Another problem for Barisan lies in Saratok, whose incumbent MP Tan Sri William Mawan is hoping to defend the seat despite questions over his party affiliation.

A day after Abang Johari’s announcement on no direct candidates, Mawan disclosed that he had actually been a member of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the state Barisan’s main component party, since 2016.

In the meantime, PDP has named businessman Subeng Mula as its candidate to contest in Saratok.

“Mawan is still interested in Saratok. If Barisan is not careful, there is bound to be sabotage between the two factions. Mawan, however, should be aware that the seat belongs to PDP.

“The mechanics of direct candidates won’t be able to solve the problem,” Jeniri said.

For political observer Datuk Peter Minos, Barisan will do well in Sarawak based on strong support from rural bumiputra voters.

Minos expects to see “ferocious fights” in the urban seats of Kuching, Sibu and Miri but said one or two other urban seats could be won by Barisan with the right choice of candidates.

Sarawak Pakatan is confident of retaining the six seats it currently holds, state PKR election director See Chee How said.

He said PKR’s focus was to retain Miri and try to win two more seats.

“Baram comes to mind because Barisan’s majority was only 195 votes,” he said.

Unlike the state election when PKR and DAP clashed in six seats, Pakatan is heading into the parliamentary election with its seat allocation based on the 2013 status quo.

PKR will contest in 15 seats and DAP in 11 while Amanah will take over the five seats previously allocated to PAS.