Malay voters remain steadfast with Barisan Nasional in Lawas
LAWAS: Malays remain steadfast as the ‘ vote bank’ for Barisan Nasional ( BN) in Lawas despite the slight swing towards the opposition from the Lun Bawang and Chinese communities in the 13th general election.
With 74.9 per cent of the 18,843 registered voters in the constituency casting their ballots, BN incumbent Datuk Henry Sum Agong polled 9,928 votes against 3,898 obtained by Dr Bob Baru Langub ( DAP) and 69 by Alirahman Kamseh (STAR), with a marginal win in Ba Kelalan and a clean sweep in Bukit Sari.
Sum was returned for his fourth term with a majority of 6,030 votes.
Lawas parliamentary constituency is made up of Ba Kelalan and Bukit Sari state constituencies.
The incumbent MP from Long Tuan won with 2,680 votes against Dr Bob’s 2,514 in 24 polling stations stretching across Bario and Ba Kelalan highlands to Trusan, signalling a significant trend towards BN by new voters.
Villagers in Ba Kelalan voted 223 to 71 in favour of BN as they had the ruling coalition to thank for the Luping- Ba Kelalan road under the Jiwa Murni project.
In the 2011 state election, PKR Sarawak chairman Baru Bian beat BN’s Willie Liaw of SPDP with 473-vote majority, polling 2,505 votes against 2,032 obtained by Liaw in a voter turnout of 65 per cent.
DAP’s newcomer Dr Bob won in only nine of the 24 polling districts in Ba Kelalan, securing 369 votes against Sum’s 95 in his home village at SK Long Semadoh, 125 against Sum’s 26 in Long Lupeng and 205 against 158 obtained by Sum in Long Sukang.
He also won Long Tuma, Pengaleh, Long Sebangan and obtained a slight edge in Trusan and the Kelabit- Penan polling station in Long Lellang.
The incumbent MP drew overwhelming support in all the polling districts in Bukit Sari except two – Lawas Town and Kampung Mission.
Sum’s victory was underscored in SK Luagan in Sundar polling district where all the 115 voters there voted for him.
The feat was almost repeated in SK Awat Awat, where Sum obtained 447 out of the 471 votes, SK Aru Baru, Sundar ( 354 out of 361), SK Kampung Seberang ( 392 out of 447), Punang ( 555 out of 605) and SK Kuala Lawas (248 out of 258).
The only blip was when Dr Bob triumphed in SJK Chung Hua in town where there were more Chinese voters, securing 58.2 percent or 679 of the total votes. BN lost to DAP in all the four streams of voting there.
It seemed that the opposition’s ‘ Ubah’ slogan had caught on with the people there, who were also concerned with local issues. DAP’s tactics and strategies were also an eye- opener for local BN leaders and workers,
It is the first time in many elections that Chinese support for BN has dropped this low. While the impact was negligible, the trend begged the question of where the Lawas Chinese community is heading to.
In town, Sum also lost in Kampung Mission, a Lun Bawang community where 48 voted for him while 52 were for Dr Bob, in a battle between two well-liked fellow Lun Bawangs.
With the over- arching clout and support from Bukit Sari assemblyman Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Sum’s down- earth humility and his impeccable track record as a hard-working and approachable MP, it was no surprise that the incumbent romped home with a handsome 6,030-vote majority or 42.7 per cent of the total votes cast.
In fact, DAP’s loss laid bare their shortcomings and vulnerability in contesting here. It also provides a window to what may unfold in the future.
The mid- term review theory applies to all political parties in Sarawak. With a state election in between a parliamentary term, the next state election may not be as far down the road as it seems.
As the dust settles, Lawas remains an undisputable BN bastion, and an unmistakable strong signal that Baru has an uphill battle to retain his Ba Kelalan seat in the next state election.
As the reality of post GE-13 sinks in, there is much fodder for soul- searching by both sides of the political divide.