By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Dec 7: There is no big issue for the Opposition to politicise in the 12th Sarawak Election, says Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice-president Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He said the Opposition was able to use Native Customary Rights (NCR) land as an election issue five years ago but the same issue no longer has the same impact this time around.
“Therefore, I think the Opposition parties are now in a tight situation especially amidst the Covid-19 pandemic whereby they cannot manipulate or bring up any issue which can arouse public opinion.
“At this moment, among the issues that they can highlight is ‘race’ but that sort of issue may or may not attract the interest of the public,” he said during a virtual political talk organised by Jiwa Bakti and Utusan Sarawak today.
Abdul Karim who is also the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate in Asajaya, further said that the 22-month tenure of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government would be seen as an important lesson for the people when choosing their next elected representatives.
“This is because some of the PH leaders in Sarawak who have been elevated in the PH administration at that time proved that they were unable to make a change or deliver their manifesto promises.
“Following this, I predict the Chinese majority areas might not support the same PH leaders and I would not be surprised if some of the Opposition leaders especially from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) might lose in the urban seats,” he added.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) lecturer Dr Lucy Sebli Seidelson was also present during the talk which was moderated by Kadir Dikoh. — DayakDaily
