Sarawak BN confident of retaining its 25 parliamentary seats

KUCHING: Sarawak Barisan Nasional can retain its 25 parliamentary seats in the coming general election and even take one or two back from the Opposition, says Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

The Chief Minister said this was based on Barisan’s performance in the last state election and the Federal Government’s positive response to restoring Sarawak’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement.

“We now have 25 out of 31 parliamentary seats. Looking at the state election and progress on the Malaysia Agreement, I believe we can maintain the number and we may gain one or two more,” he said in an interview.

In the 2016 state election, Barisan won 72 out of 82 seats, wresting back five Chinese-majority seats from DAP.

Abang Johari said he believed Chinese sentiment in Sarawak had softened towards Barisan.

“I think now they know the state government has policies that look after the interests of the Chinese.

“For example, we have recognised the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).

“They also realise that the state government must have a good relationship with the Federal Government,” he said, adding that voters also wanted a stable government with good economic policies.

On the other hand, Sarawak Pakatan Harapan is confident of retaining its six seats – five under DAP and one held by PKR – and hopes to make a breakthrough in rural constituencies.

PKR election director See Chee How said the sentiments of urban and Chinese voters have remained largely unchanged since the last general election.

“Compared to 2013, there are more issues now, such as 1MDB, GST, Felda and national debt.

“Urban voters have better access to information and they have greater political awareness on issues like poor governance, corruption and leakages at the expense of the people’s welfare, especially in Sarawak,” he said.

See also said the state government’s attempts to reclaim autono- my had so far been “plenty of lip service but little concrete results”.

In view of this, he said, PKR’s focus would be on retaining the urban seat of Miri and winning two more seats.

“Baram comes to mind because Barisan’s majority there was only 195 votes in the last election. PKR would have won if not for an independent candidate who garnered 300 votes.

“However, no seat is easy, including Miri. It is always a difficult task to battle against Barisan which is rich in resources.

“But I have confidence in our party leaders, members and machinery,” he said.