KUCHING – Candidates who won in the 12th Sarawak election are in high spirits while those who lost, save for one, are far from being downcast, chinning up to pitch their tents again in the next hustings.
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) president Bobby William told The Vibes that all of its 11 candidates who contested in the polls lost their deposits.
“But we are still strong as a party and are not devastated. In battles, there are winners and losers, so we lost today. But this loss will not discourage us.
“We will hold strong to our vision and mission to uplift the Dayak community always, as they have been downtrodden for decades as if they are a cursed race.
“This is why we exist as a party. We live to fight another day,” said Bobby.
He also congratulated the winners of the 11 seats in which PBDS had stood and lost and hoped they would keep the promises they made to the voters.
The people have spoken
Aspirasi president Lina Soo, who contested the Padungan seat and lost pushing for Sarawak’s independence, said that the people have spoken and the party respected their mandate.
“As former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, the people of Sarawak do not want independence, they only want autonomy. But for me, I feel the people of Sarawak are not able to perceive the bigger picture.
“The party will immediately do a post-mortem. It took the Scottish National Party 90 years to win and get a referendum. Of course, I hope to see this happening in Sarawak before I die,” she said with a flicker of hope.
DAP retained the Padungan seat with a comfortable majority of 1,198 votes won by state DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen. Chong garnered 4,686 votes, defeating his other opponents Wee Hong Seng (GPS) and Raymond Thong Ee Yu (PBK).
In 2016, Padungan incumbent Wong King Wei secured a huge majority of 4,270 votes but eventually quit the party last year.
PBK: We lost, but GPS did not win big
Parti Bumi Kenyalang president Voon Lee Shan told The Vibes that although they lost badly, it was not a sign of great victory for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“The voter turnout in most constituencies was very low, as low as less than 30%. The victory by GPS is nothing to be proud of.
“GPS took control of the whole situation from the beginning and had exploited the Covid-19 pandemic situation to its own advantage by keeping people illiterate, giving money and food aid, with photos of ministers and YBs imprinted on all food packages delivered to people during their campaign.
“They could use helicopters to campaign and even use the Pan Borneo Highway as airports to land and take off from remote areas with no airstrips.”
He said other parties in the opposition did not have these advantages.
“We could not compete against the GPS coalition and suffered setbacks due to the pandemic restrictions during our campaign period.
“As long as people love money and are kept poor and hungry and are kept away from development, GPS will be able to rule Sarawak as long as they like.
“Although PBK had lost all seats contested, we are proud to be able to assemble 73 candidates for this election,” said Voon.
Aspirasi candidate for Pujut Fong Pau Teck simply said: “We did our best under very difficult constraints. There is always another day for victory,” said Fong, who only managed 128 votes.
Adam Yii (GPS-SUPP) won Pujut with a thumping 5,558 votes.
Another candidate who lost but has yet to lose the will to serve the people, Leslie Ting said philosophically that all the hard work his party had put in did not go to waste.
“We can still serve the people, although we lost. They can come and seek us out, whenever they need our assistance,” said the DAP candidate.
Outcome is amazing, said Baru Bian
Baru Bian, who won the Ba’kelalan seat, described the outcome as really amazing, as he managed to increase his majority from 530 to 680 despite the low turnout.
“This is a reflection of who the Lun Bawang people are today. They are politically mature and cannot be easily misled by the old rhetoric that only BN/GPS can bring development for their community.
“They now understand that there are more important things than projects and development. They are attuned to issues like land rights, religious rights, the future of the next generation, as well as education and employment. They are more concerned with justice, fair play, and good governance.”
Bian thanked all those who voted for him and trusted his stewardship to represent them in the state assembly for a third term.
“I have always stood as an opposition politician,” he said.
‘Smaller majority, but I will give my best’
Pending incumbent Violet Yong, who took a major hit with her majority slashed by almost 90% compared to her 2016 victory in the state election, said she vows to work even harder for the constituents.
In today’s polls, Yong only won by a razor-thin majority of 540 votes.
Seemingly rattled by the close shave, she told The Vibes in a choking voice: “I have mixed feelings over this narrow win. I managed to scrape through but I respect the mandate of the people here.
“I will continue to give my best to the people, even to those outside my constituency, they can come to seek my help.
“I am still pleased that I can continue to bring the problems of the people to the state assembly. I am just sad that from seven seats we are now reduced to just two in the state assembly,” said Yong.
When contacted, Kota Sentosa DAP candidate Michael Kong said the people of Kota Sentosa have spoken.
“There will always be winners and losers in any election. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Wilfred Yap of SUPP for his win. It has been a challenging campaign over the last 12 days in light of the strict SOPs.
“Clearly, Wilfred Yap has done enough to convince the people that he should be the voice of Kota Sentosa in the state assembly.
“As predicted earlier, a turnout of lower than 55% and a shift of opposition votes away from DAP could mean a wipeout of the opposition. This has led to DAP only winning two seats in this election.
“As forewarned, PSB will not have the numbers to form a government and only time will tell if they are really sincere in this fight for a better Sarawak.”
Kong, the special officer to Chong, said he is grateful for those who voted for him.
“I thank you for believing in me. This is only the start of a long journey and I will continue this fight for a better Sarawak premised on good governance.
“At the same time, let us all scrutinise all actions by GPS’ elected representatives and hold them accountable.”
Independent candidate and maternal healthcare crusader, Agnes Padan, the first Lun Bawang woman to contest the state election in Ba’kelalan who lost, said: “I lost badly and thank all those who came out to support me. In my own personal capacity, I will continue to crusade for maternal healthcare and other health needs of the Lun Bawang people,” she added.
At press time, The Vibes’ attempt to reach out to DAP candidates Irene Chang (Bukit Assek) and Dr Kelvin Yii (Batu Kawah) who lost in their constituencies, have failed. – The Vibes, December 19, 2021
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