Dato Othman Abdillah
KUCHING (Sept 20): Parti Sedar Rakyat (Sedar) is considering fielding a candidate in the Jepak by-election, its president Dato Othman Abdillah said.
However, he said a final decision will only be made after the party obtains feedback from its members in the constituency.
“Now that Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) are expected to merge by December this year, and Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) is still unsettled, thus the only alternative party left to contest is Sedar and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK).
“Since Jepak is a Bumiputera-majority constituency, there is a possibility that Sedar might participate in the by-election. But we will need to hear the opinions of our members in Jepak first,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted today.
The by-election comes following the demise of incumbent Datuk Talib Zulpilip on Sept 15.
Asked if he had a candidate in mind should Sedar decide to contest, Othman replied in the affirmative but chose not to disclose any names.
Meanwhile, both Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Sarawak and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) Sarawak said no decision has been made yet whether to contest in the by-election.
Bersatu Sarawak chairman Senator Jaziri Alkaf Abdillah Suffian said the party will update on their decision after their meeting on the matter.
PAS Sarawak commissioner Jofri Jaraie also gave a similar response.
“As of now, we have yet to come to an official decision. We are still discussing whether we want to contest or not. We will inform again once we have made the decision,” said Jofri.
The Election Commission (EC) will hold a special meeting next Monday (Sept 25) to decide the key dates for the Jepak by-election.
EC secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak in a statement yesterday said the meeting, to be chaired by EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh, will determine the dates for issuance of writ of election, nomination day and polling day, as well as on the electoral roll to be used and other preparations for the by-election.
State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar at a press conference on the same day said he had notified Abdul Ghani on the vacancy of the Jepak state seat.
The late Talib had represented Jepak for six terms since the seat was introduced in the 1996 State Election.
He retained the in the last state election in 2021, winning by a majority of 4,248 votes in a four-cornered fight.
The current term of the 19th DUN expires on Feb 14, 2027.