KUCHING – Come the 15th general election (GE15), Julau is set to witness a rematch between the same candidates in 2018, but it is anticipated that the outcome might be different due to several factors.
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, who is Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman, named Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum as its candidate for Julau when announcing the coalition’s full list of GE15 candidates yesterday.
Incumbent Julau MP Datuk Larry Sng, on the other hand, had indicated that he would defend the seat he won as an independent candidate in GE14 under his newly formed party Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM).
The fact that both candidates would be contesting under new flags makes GE15 a different game from GE14.
In GE14, Salang contested on a BN-PRS ticket and failed to defend the seat he had held for four consecutive terms in a straight fight with Sng, who then contested as an independent candidate.
It was generally acknowledged that the main reason why BN lost grip on Julau, dubbed as its stronghold, was the strong wind of change blowing across the constituency, proven on the eve of GE14 polling day.
Salang lost to Sng by 1,931 votes after garnering a total of 8,174 votes against the latter’s 10,105.
But this time around, PRS president Salang is contesting under the GPS symbol, and PBM president Sng has indicated that he will be using his party’s symbol.
Local voters can now use the report cards they have on both candidates to decide who deserves their votes, based on what and how much Salang as a former MP and Sng as an incumbent have done for Julau. – Borneo Post Online, November 4, 2022
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