File photo for illustration purposes
MIRI: Ba Kelalan incumbent Baru Bian is likely to face a fierce battle to retain the seat in the next state election, as three political parties namely Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) are expected to field their candidates to contest in the seat.
PBK’s aspiring candidate for the seat Peter Asut when contacted yesterday confirmed that he would be contesting for the seat and had been moving on the ground since last year.
“I am originally from Puru Sia in Trusan, Lawas and I have been moving around since July last year,” he said.
The 61-year-old retired senior assistant environmental officer said he considered himself as an ‘underdog’ but remained optimistic that he had a good ground support.
“I am not new in Ba Kelalan, In fact, I have many family members living across this constituency. Thus, I believe I have a good support on the ground,” he added.
As for PKR, a potential candidate was believed to be moving actively moving around in Lawas in the past weeks to gain support from the local community.
PKR was said to be wanting to contest for the seat which Baru won under the party’s ticket in the last state election.
Baru, a former PKR Sarawak chairman won the Ba Kelalan seat for the second time in the 11th state election against the then Barisan Nasional (BN) Wille Liau in a straight corner fight.
He retained the seat with a majority of 538 after polling 2,858 votes against Wille who garnered 2,330 votes.
He first won the seat in 2011 state election.
However, Baru left PKR following a political turmoil which led to the collapse of Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
He joined Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) in May this year.
He had confirmed his participation in the next state election to retain the Ba Kelalan seat.