MIRI – The 12th Sarawak election may be held in late March or early April, if the Covid-19 pandemic in the state subsides by then.
Sources in the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government told The Vibes that its component parties are already gearing up their election machinery for that period.
The GPS components – Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) – have been instructed to get ready for the eventuality.
A source said that GPS is also working with the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) at the federal level to have the state polls held together with the 15th general election (GE15), which is not due until September 2023.
“Having the Sarawak state polls simultaneously with GE15 may be the way for GPS and its PN federal partners to counter the onslaught of the opposition,” the source explained.
“GPS and PN rely on each other to win convincingly in their respective states.”
The source said GPS is keen to ensure the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties are busy with the national polls so that they would not come en masse to participate in Sarawak’s election.
“All this, however, depends on whether the Covid-19 threat at both the state and national level can be reduced to a level safe enough for a public election,” said the source.
PBB’s Baram chief Dennis Ngau, meanwhile, said the period between late March and early April looks to be the ideal window for polls.
“Yes, we in GPS would like to see the state polls in the first quarter before the middle of April,” he said.
“The Muslim fasting month is likely in mid-April and then it will be Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
“After that, it will be Gawai Dayak,” he said, adding that February is the Chinese New Year period.
“So if all goes well, most likely the March to April period will see the state election taking place.
"Still, there is no way to tell for sure as the Covid-19 remains very unpredictable,” he said.
Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia and has 82 state constituencies.
GPS controls 68 seats, DAP has five seats and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) has six. There is only one independent in the state assembly.
The current assembly term expires on June 8, 2021, after which the assembly dissolves automatically.
If a state election is not held by that time, the Election Commission (EC) will have 60 days from the date of automatic dissolution to call for polling.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg recently said in Miri that the 12th state polls was supposed to have been held last year, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 threat.
Sarawak has seen 19 deaths and about 1,100 positive Covid-19 cases to date. – The Vibes, January 1, 2021
