MIRI – Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) may field popular Malay leader Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee to contest the Sibu parliamentary seat, a Chinese-majority constituency.
Dr Annuar, who is vice-president of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), is currently Nangka state assemblyman, which is part of the Sibu district.
Engaging commenters on his social media, Annuar has said he is ready to contest in Sibu if chosen.
“If GPS chairman (Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg) nominates me to contest in Sibu, I will go for it.
“It does not matter which GPS component stands in Sibu. What is most important is that we win it back again this time,” he said of the seat currently held by DAP.
The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), which is part of GPS, has traditionally contested the seat.
Besides PBB and SUPP, other parties in GPS are the Parti Rakyat Sarawak and Progressive Democratic Party.
Sibu was once known as a stronghold of the ruling government but is considered a “lost seat” after being won by DAP in three consecutive elections.
Annuar, who is PBB Sibu chairman, said this lost seat image must be dealt with by fielding a winnable candidate from GPS in GE15.
Responding to SUPP’s claims that Sibu is its traditional seat, Annnuar said there is no such thing as seats belonging to a certain party.
“The most important is who is the most winnable,” he said.
If Annuar is nominated to contest in Sibu, he will likely face DAP incumbent MP Oscar Ling and Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, the president of local opposition Parti Sarawak Bersatu.
Wong, 78, last month announced he will contest in Sibu.
In 2018, DAP’s Ling defeated candidates from SUPP and two other local parties by over 11,000 votes.
Ling is the second-term incumbent MP for Sibu and is also DAP Sarawak’s parliamentary election director for GE15. Before him, the Sibu seat was held by DAP’s Wong Ho Leng, who first won it in a by-election in 2010. – The Vibes, October 19, 2022
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