Election Commission staff conduct final checks on their polling centre essentials at Bau Civic Centre yesterday, ahead of polling day today. – Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING (Nov 19): There is no shortage of big names and interesting characters when it comes to the candidates contesting in Sarawak in this 15th general election (GE15). Out of the 31 parliamentary seats in the state, six are being closely watched: Puncak Borneo, Stampin, Saratok, Julau, Sibu and Lawas.
Puncak Borneo
Incumbent Datuk Willie Mongin is defending the seat as a Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate. He won the seat on a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ticket in May 2018, before leaving the party 22 months later to join the Perikatan Nasional (PN)-led federal government.
Willie was accepted as a member of GPS backbone Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) on Aug 6 this year, two months before the Parliament was dissolved to make way for the GE15.
It would be interesting to see if Willie, still fresh in PBB, could match or exceed the 4,005-vote majority should he win in this Bidayuh-majority constituency again this time.
Standing in the way of Willie’s re-election bid are Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Diog Dios, and Iana Akam of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).
Coincidentally, all three candidates were once comrades in PKR, with Diog the only one still representing the party.
Stampin
Stampin is another seat where the vote-tallying result would be eagerly awaited, since it features Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang taking on the incumbent Chong Chieng Jen from Democratic Action Party (DAP).
Lo, who is fielded as a GPS candidate by Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), is also a two-term assembyman for Batu Kitang – one of the three state constituencies under Stampin.
Chong, on the other hand, is considered a political heavyweight in Sarawak as he had represented Bandar Kuching as MP for three terms before moving to Stampin in 2018. He is also DAP Sarawak chairman.
The campaigning between both camps to win over voters in Stampin had been intense in the past two weeks, and attracted big crowds wherever it was held in Kuching city.
It would be interesting to see if GPS, which won all the three state seats under Stampin in last year’s state election – would be able to maintain the momentum, or would Chong remain a popular choice among the voters.
The third candidate for Stampin is Lue Cheng Hing of Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), who is contesting under Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) banner, following an alliance between the two parties.
An election debutant, Lue could garner votes from those who follow PBK’s ideology, but this could also be seen as splitting the votes between Lo and Chong.
Lubok Antu and Saratok
These two Iban-majority seats are also being closely watched, in that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) is fielding the incumbents, Datuk Ali Biju and Jugah Muyang.
Ali won Saratok on PKR ticket in the 2018 election, while Jugah won as an independent.
In Saratok, it is a three-cornered fight for Ali with GPS fielding debutant, Giendam Jonathan Tait from Progressive Democratic Party (PDP); and PH aiming to reclaim the seat through PKR’s Ibil Jaya.
Coincidentally, all three candidates are engineers by profession.
GPS is faced with a daunting task of wooing voters in Saratok as Ali appears to have covered a lot of ground since 2018, and more so after he was appointed a deputy federal minister in 2020.
PN would make a breakthrough in Sarawak should Ali successfully defend the seat.
The same situation also applies to Lubok Antu, if Jugah wins. He is facing PSB’s Dr Johnical Rayong Ngipa, and two new faces: GPS candidate Roy Angau Gingkoi from Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), and PH-PKR candidate Langga Lias.
Rayong, who is PSB deputy president, will contest in a parliamentary election for the first time. He has been Engkilili assemblyman since 2006, and is regarded as a popular figure in Lubok Antu.
It would be interesting to see which of the two, Jugah and Rayong, are able to pull the most number of votes – or would it be Roy pulling off a surprise and reclaiming the seat for GPS and PRS.
Julau
Another Iban-majority seat, Julau will be the battleground of two party presidents: incumbent and Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) president Datuk Larry Sng, and PRS president Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum who is contesting on GPS ticket.
It is a rematch from the 14th general election where Sng had defeated Salang, who was at the time making his bid for a fifth term as MP.
Sng had won the seat as an independent before joining PKR. He then left PKR in 2020 and later, teamed up with several other political leaders to form PBM in 2021.
Joining the contest are Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS)’s Susan George and Independent candidate Elly Lawai Ngalai.
Sibu
This is where a three-cornered fight between incumbent Oscar Ling from DAP, Clarence Ting of GPS and Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh of PSB, will take place.
Ling has represented Sibu since 2013, while GE15 will mark the election debut for Ting, who is currently Sibu Municipal Council chairman and also SUPP’s hope to win the seat.
Wong, who is also contesting in a parliamentary election for the first time, is PSB president and six-term Bawang Assan assemblyman. He is also a former state cabinet minister.
As an urban Chinese-majority constituency in central Sarawak, Sibu is closely watched in every election, and it would be interesting see which party gets to win the seat.
Lawas
Last but not least is Lawas, where there will be a clash of two Lun Bawang political giants: incumbent Datuk Henry Sum Agong of GPS-PBB, and Baru Bian of PSB.
Henry is gunning for his sixth term as MP. On the other hand Baru, also Ba Kelalan assemblyman and PSB secretary-general, is heading home to Lawas after having served as Selangau MP from 2018 to 2022.
Baru is also the first Lun Bawang to be appointed a federal full minister post in the PH-led government, which lasted 22 months.
Also in the running is PH candidate, Japar Suyut from PKR – thus, completing the three-cornered fight in the northernmost parliamentary constituency in Sarawak.