MIRI – Pre-campaign ground movements among political outfits are in full swing in Sarawak, with party workers from opposing sides already mingling among grassroots voters even before nominations are held on November 5.
In the Sibuti parliamentary constituency about 60km from Miri town, the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s (GPS) election director Datuk Rosey Yunus has met with hundreds of party members and cluster groups of voters.
The State Public Communications Unit said she has called on all party agents to reach out to new voters.
“The ground campaigners must be mobilised now ahead of nomination day,” she said during a meeting with GPS campaign teams.
“We have to work hard to reach out to all the grassroots voters, especially the new ones,” said the Bekenu state assemblywoman for GPS component Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB).
Senior politicians from both sides of the political divide concur that first-time voters will make the crucial difference as to who wins Sarawak’s urban parliamentary seats come polling day on November 19.
PBB, DAP, PKR and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) leaders have publicly acknowledged the importance of these first-timers, especially the young ones.
Sarawak DAP 15th general election (GE15) director Oscar Ling in Sibu town even described these new voters as likely kingmakers.
“These new voters who had never voted before will be the kingmakers for sure,” he said. “In the Sibu parliamentary constituency, there are at least 30,000 new voters.
“That is a big number of new voters who are still unknown in terms of their political leanings,” said the incumbent Sibu MP, who is expected to defend the seat, in a social media chat.
PBB vice president Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee also acknowledged the crucial importance of the new voters.
“The young ones, especially those who are in universities or are fresh graduates, will likely place a lot of emphasis on young candidates.
“They will look for the candidates with educational and professional abilities and qualifications. These young voters are capable of making informed decisions.
“They will make good voting decisions for sure,” the Nangka state assemblyman said in a social media chat with his constituents.
SUPP secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting said these “public-polls first-timers” will be decisive due to their sheer big numbers.
He told The Vibes that there is a sizable increase in the number of potential new voters from the Undi 18 age groups in urban parliamentary constituencies.
“We in SUPP had looked into the statistics of these potential new voters, who had never voted before in public elections, and we found it difficult to predict how they will vote on polling day.
“Their numbers are huge and if they do indeed come out to vote en-masse, they will make the crucial difference on the polling results.
“For example, in the Miri parliamentary seat, if all these new voters come out to vote, there could be at least 57,000 of these first-timers… There is no telling which party they will vote for.
“We in SUPP will rely on our positive track record in service to the rakyat to convince voters on polling day,” the Piasau state assemblyman said when interviewed.
The Miri seat has been held by PKR for the past two terms.
Latest figures from the Election Commission show that there are over 657,000 new voters throughout Sarawak, mostly in the urban constituencies.
There are 31 parliamentary seats in the state. Up until Parliament’s dissolution earlier this month, GPS held 19 seats, independents two, Parti Bangsa Malaysia one, and the rest shared by the opposition parties of DAP, Parti Sarawak Bersatu and PKR. – The Vibes, October 27, 2022
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