(From third right to left) Dr Yii, Faisal, See, Mohd Shazani (second left) and others pose after the forum.
KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak was unable to make much of an inroad in rural seats as it failed to swing voters from former Barisan Nasional (BN) – now Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) – component parties in the 14th general election (GE14).
Batu Lintang assemblyman and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak vice-chairman See Chee How said even though the coalition was able to secure a higher number of voters this time around compared to 2013, most of the additional 96,000 voters who chose PH were from urban areas.
He acknowledged that unless there was to be an increase in the number of urban seats, PH might not be able to secure any new seat unless they are able to win the hearts of rural voters in the next Sarawak election.
According to See, Malays in Sarawak look upon Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) similar to how the Malays in the peninsula looked to Umno before GE14.
“Malays in Sarawak look at PBB as the umbrella looking after them. They have not been able to see other options, but people must take the initiatives to change,” he told a political forum here yesterday.
He said Sarawak had 25 per cent Malay population while Peninsular Malaysia registered about 60 per cent Malays.
Because of this, he felt that the community should not feel uneasy about Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) wanting to spread its wings to Sarawak.
Furthermore, he said people these days are well informed and they look forward to multi-racial political parties rather than single-race ones.
He added that Sarawakians and Malaysians at large should work closely to promote multi-racial parties in order to bring about real change in the nation.
“A new Malaysia is not going to be an overnight thing, but it is progressing given what the PH federal government has done so far. I believe we can achieve a new Malaysia very soon,” he said.
The forum, themed ‘Malaysia Baru: Adakah Rakyat Boss?’ (New Malaysia: Are People The Bosses?) was organised by civil society organisation Rise of Sarawak Efforts (ROSE).
Other speakers yesterday were Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii and Faisal S Hazis, a scholar from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The forum was moderated by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak scholar Mohd Shazani Masri.