THE Sarawak state elections ended yesterday and as most have expected, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition yet again dominated the polls.
Despite breaking away from the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition after the 14th General Election, the coalition led by Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) has proven that his team is still unassailable in the region.
GPS won 75 seats out of the 84 contested, giving it a more than the coveted two thirds majority. Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) won four seats while Pakatan Harapan managed to win four seats, all by the DAP.
Many have predicted that GPS’ landslide victory may embolden the coalition to make more demands from Putrajaya, which the latter may find it hard to refuse as the Sarawak team controls 18 MPs, with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob only having two seats majority.
And the Government’s gambit to pass several constitutional amendments to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s position as equal partners to Peninsula Malaysia, as opposed to being mere states, may have been a crucial factor in GPS’ win yesterday.
Now, let us talk about the Opposition!
It looks like Pakatan Harapan’s bad luck has not abated ever since it won federal powers in 2018. For those who may have forgotten, the coalition lost seven by-elections before it was ousted from Putrajaya early last year due its then- chairperson, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s apparent botched self-coup.
Last month, it also lost the Melaka state election, despite winning the state in 2018. The BN coalition won 21 out of the 28 state seats contested, also giving it the supermajority.
In both Melaka and Sarawak’s cases, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) got wiped out. DAP, on the other hand, had its seats nearly halved compared to its previous gains.
As we all know, many have called the top echelons of Pakatan Harapan, including PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to step aside following the drubbing it received in the Melaka state polls but it was criticised by his loyalists from within and outside the coalition.
Time to shine, PSB!
But with Pakatan getting humiliated again in the Sarawak state election, it is safe to say that the Opposition really needs to do some soul searching, and fast, before the 15th General Election is called.
This to ensure that they can at least maintain a formidable parliamentary strength to provide effective checks and balances to the Government.
Anwar, together with DAP’s Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu definitely need to get themselves a new set of advisers because it is obvious that their current team is out of touch with reality!
The question now is, who is going to tell Pakatan’s “emperors” that they are walking high and mighty out there “with no clothes on”?
Back to Sarawak, it looks like PSB, a successor to the United People’s Party (UPP), is going to become the top Opposition team in the Sarawak state legislative assembly.
With heavyweights such as its president Wong Soon Koh (a former Sarawak minister) and Baru Bian (former Sarawak PKR chief) leading the team, it is said that they may have certain clout to push GPS leaders to do certain things, provided Pakatan lends a support to their cause.
Nevertheless, PSB needs to ensure that it delivers in the next five years so as to instil confidence among Sarawakian voters who are longing for a change, but rather pick GPS due to the trust deficit with Peninsula Malaysia based political parties.
And if they do meet the people’s aspirants, perhaps PSB may become a formidable force in Sarawak in years to come. – Dec 19, 2021.
