By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Nov 2: Will Dato Sri Nancy Shukri be fielded in Santubong, instead of the Batang Sadong parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15)?
DayakDaily spotted on social media an unconfirmed election campaign poster with Nancy’s photo indicating she is the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate for P193 Santubong.
If this is true, Nancy will be replacing Santubong incumbent Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar who was confirmed by Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg as stepping down and not seeking reelection in the GE15.
It is said that the caretaker Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture is a favourable and winnable candidate as she is not only well accepted by the people but her experience and hard work will be able to bring more development and changes that would spur Santubong’s growth.
With Nancy tipped to contest in Wan Junaidi’s seat, a second question arises as to who will GPS field in Batang Sadong, a federal seat Nancy has held for three terms since 2008.
Rumours have it that a young female political secretary to the Premier would be fielded to take on Batang Sadong which is a stronghold for Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).
Batang Sadong, which comprises the State constituencies of Sadong Jaya, Simunjan and Gedong, has been represented by PBB in Parliament since the 1990s with Wahab Suhaili (1990-1995), followed by Sukinam Domo (1995-2004) and the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem (2204-2008).
In the 2018 general election, Nancy defended Batang Sadong with a majority of 12,328 votes. She garnered 14,208 votes, defeating Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Othman Mustapha (1,880 votes) and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia’s (PAS) Asan Singkro (978 votes).
Santubong constituency, which comprises the State constituencies of Tanjong Datu, Pantai Damai and Demak Laut, is also a stronghold for PBB. Wan Junaidi has held the federal seat for four terms since 2004.
The caretaker Law Minister had proved himself to be a great asset for GPS, especially in playing a major role in reinstating Sarawak’s rights as enshrined under Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGC) in recent years through several amendments to the Federal Constitution.
In GE14, Wan Junaidi retained the Santubong seat with a huge majority of 19,485 votes. He garnered 26,379 votes in a straight fight against PH’s Mohamad Fidzuan Zaidi who obtained 6,894 votes.
Meanwhile, Sarawak can expect some surprises as Abang Johari, who is the GPS chairman, is expected to name the coalition’s 31 candidates for GE15 tomorrow (Nov 3) at 9.30am at PBB Headquarters in Jalan Bako here. — DayakDaily
