Now to form the government
Next federal administration unclear but GPS poised to play role of kingmaker
KUCHING: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) gave a solid showing in its first national election by winning 20 parliamentary seats in the 15th general election (GE15), according to Election Commission results as of 12.20am.
The outcome for one seat in Sarawak – Baram – was not expected last night.
This is because polling in 11 centres in Baram was suspended due to weather conditions and will resume on Monday.
The seat is being defended by the incumbent from GPS.
GPS component parties produced a slightly better performance this time around compared to the 19 seats won in 2018 when it was part of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
As of midnight, it was still unclear whether GPS would join forces to help form the new federal government or become an opposition at the federal level.
Pakatan Harapan (PH) was in the lead, followed by Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) as of midnight.
In Sarawak, PH won six seats, one less than its tally in 2018.
PN made a breakthrough by taking Saratok, one of the four seats contested in Sarawak, after incumbent Datuk Ali Biju won by a 8,826-vote majority.
Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), making its election debut, won its one and only seat in Sarawak, namely Julau, through the incumbent and party president Datuk Larry Sng who won by 1,340 votes.
Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), which also contested in a parliamentary election for the first time, failed to secure any seats.
For GPS, its backbone Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) is expected to make a clean sweep of all the 14 seats allocated to the party.
It also won Puncak Borneo through incumbent Datuk Willie Mongin who was only admitted to PBB three months ago. Willie previously won the seat on a PKR ticket in the 2018 polls.
Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), which contested in seven seats, only managed to win two. The party retained its stronghold of Serian, and won back Sarikei from Democratic Action Party (DAP).
Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) won five out of six seats allocated to the party, including regaining Lubok Antu and Selangau. The party however failed to win back Julau despite fielding president Datuk Joseph Salang.
New face Roy Angau Gingkoi only just managed to secure Lubok Antu by a slim 100 votes in a four-cornered fight, edging heavyweights Dr Johnical Rayong of PSB and incumbent Jugah Muyang of PN.
Another GPS component, Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) which was allocated four seats, unofficially retained Bintulu but failed to regain Mas Gading and Saratok. Its candidate in Baram, Datuk Anyi Ngau, was leading the votes in Baram.
For DAP, which is part of PH but used its own logo in this election, it was projected to win five out of the eight seats contested, as of midnight.
The confirmed winners included DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen who retained Stampin, and DAP Socialist Youth chief Dr Kelvin Yii who retained Bandar Kuching.
Mordi Bimol retained Mas Gading, which was the only Bumiputera-majority seat won by DAP. The party however failed to keep hold of Sarikei.
For PH’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), it contested 16 seats but only retained Miri through new face Chiew Choon Man.
Its candidate in Baram, PKR Sarawak chairman Roland Engan, was trailing in the tally of votes.
The third PH component, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), failed to win any of its six seats.
Other parties, namely Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) which contested three seats, and Parti Sedar Rakyat Sarawak (Sedar) which contested one seat, also did not win.
Four candidates from Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), of which three contested using PSB’s logo, failed to win with most of them losing their election deposits.
The 11 independents, contesting on various logos, also failed to win any seats unlike in 2018 where two independents had won.
Altogether, there were a total of 92 candidates in the fray this year in Sarawak involving eight straight-fights, 17 three-cornered contests, five four-cornered contests and one five-cornered contests for the 31 seats.