KUCHING – Will the 15th general election set the stage for the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) to finally wrest back the Lanang seat from DAP?
There has been lots of speculation that the coming election will be an easy win for the SUPP candidate due to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government’s poor performance during its short-lived 22 months in power.
DAP forms part of the PH coalition government together with PKR and Amanah.
When the PH government took over in 2018, there was hope that the change of government would bring a new dawn, and that the country would change for the better after 60 years under the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
However, the PH government collapsed in just 22 months due to the Sheraton Move, which saw the formation of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government helmed by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
With the collapse of the PH government, many of the promises listed in their election manifesto remain unfulfilled, such as the promised 20% oil royalty and 50% of revenues collected to be returned to Sarawak.
There may be some positive results nationally, such as the implementation of institutional reforms, Undi18, and the waiving of GST, but whether these are enough to pacify voters and their reaction to the PH’s government failure to carry out its promises, and translate into protest votes in Sarawak against PH remains unclear.
Another determining factor for Lanang is the ability of the opposition parties to form a pact and avoid contesting against each other.
After months of negotiation, Parti Sarawak Bersatu and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) finally agreed to join forces with several other local opposition parties after talks with DAP failed.
Word on the grapevine is that this could split opposition votes, hence benefiting GPS/SUPP and repeating the same scenario in the state election last December when the opposition’s split votes contributed to huge gains for the ruling GPS government.
A low voter turnout could also work in GPS’ favour.
However, a political analyst here who requested anonymity said not all is clear-cut at the moment and it is always difficult to predict the hearts and minds of voters.
“It’s very hard to predict. There are undercurrents and resentment against those who caused the election. We are talking about the federal election, not state election, and the voters may have a different mentality when they go to the polls.
“There is no guarantee that it will be an easy win for SUPP despite all odds stacked heavily against the opposition parties. Still, SUPP candidates need to work hard to secure victory,” he said.
Citing Lanang, he said DAP incumbent Alice Lau Kiong Yieng still commands lots of respect and has the support of voters, especially the hardcore DAP supporters.
“She is a two-term Lanang MP and that title alone naturally carries some weight. She could be still riding on her popularity,” he added.
In the 2013 parliamentary election, the then political newcomer defied all odds when she polled 26,613 votes to defeat timber tycoon and political heavyweight Datuk Tiong Thai King of SUPP with a majority of 8,630 votes in her maiden fight.
In the following election, Lau retained the seat with an even bigger majority of 14,546 votes over SUPP’s Kelvin Kong and Sarawak Peace Party’s Priscilla Lau.
Lau is defending the seat for a third term and has been reaching out to the electorate during her years as Lanang MP.
“It is still too early to rule out whether there will be a swing of her votes to the ruling GPS. We will only be able to tell the voter’s sentiments as the election day approaches,” the analyst said.
Standing in her way again is Priscilla, now PBK’s secretary-general. A lawyer by profession, Priscilla is a familiar figure in Sibu and will be taking her second stab at the Lanang seat.
In the last parliamentary election, she only garnered 628 votes.
This time round, she believes it would be a different story and she has been harping on her party’s vision to seek freedom and independence for Sarawak from the Federation of Malaysia to draw votes.
It had reaped dividends, at least if the last state election is of any indication, when she garnered an unexpected 2,598 votes for the Bukit Assek state constituency.
Bukit Assek is one of the two state constituencies under Lanang. The other state seat is Dudong.
The analyst said that the “people are listening and are more aware about taking back Sarawak’s rights due to the PBK constantly harping on the issue. That alone is a success story”.
Then there is businessman Wong Tiing Kiong who will run as an independent.
The 60-year-old entrepreneur is also a well-known figure in local circles.
Known to be friendly, influential, and very down-to-earth, Wong said it was his desire to serve the people that propelled him to join the fray.
Wong is basically a political novice, but has said that should he get elected, he will work hard to serve the people, bring equal opportunities to all, and also look into issues affecting the community and traders.
“I am not sure about his chances and whether he is just making up the numbers or whatever reason that he has to take part in the election.
“But traditionally, and as far as I know, none of the independent candidates for Lanang have created any serious impact on the election results,” the political analyst said.
An independent candidate could be a spoiler but it remains to be seen who are the real beneficiaries and victims of a spoiler on polling day, he added.
Still, the political analyst said the main battle is likely to be between SUPP and DAP.
SUPP has yet to announce its candidate but two potential candidates, Sibu Municipal Council councillor Raymond Tiong Eng Lee, 53, and Sibu Rural District Council deputy chairman Wong Ching Yong, have already been moving around, issuing statements, and reaching out to the voters for support.
Both Tiong and Wong had been working very hard in the past weeks, shuttling between longhouses and the urban areas and offering aid to the people.
Experience-wise, however, Wong appears to have the upper hand and he could possibly be the frontrunner for the GPS ticket.
“However, a winnable, acceptable, and likeable candidate in the eyes of the voters matters the most in any election. The rest is secondary,” the political analyst said.
Already, a war of words had erupted between Wong and Lau, with the former accusing the latter of not doing enough especially during the 22 months PH was in power.
Lau said there was no need for her to announce every project for her constituency in the past three years.
“I think he (Wong) should learn how to read the Hansard first because whatever we said in the Parliament sittings are all recorded there. In the last three years, we sent letters to the relevant ministries and we do not have to tell him what we have done and the projects that are approved,” she added
Lau said the people can judge her based on her track record and how much she had done for them in her past two-terms as Lanang MP.
Judging from the current scenario, Lanang is expected to see a four-cornered fight.
Lanang has over 80,000 registered voters and of the total, over 20,000 are new voters, including Undi18 voters.
No one can predict how these new young voters think and the political literacy of some of them may also be in doubt.
There is also that general belief that these youngsters are anti-establishment and are more prone to the opposition camp. But whether that holds any truth remains to be seen. – Borneo Post Online, November 3, 2022
