Commentary
By Lian Cheng
PARTI Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) put up a good fight in the 2021 Sarawak Election where it defended all the 11 seats allocated to it as one of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties.
However, in the lead up to the 15th General Election, things may not be as rosy as PRS candidates will have to deal with constituencies of huge size. This is not the only problem. The long travelling distance, rough terrain of logging roads and fast-flowing rivers are all routes dangerous to tread during the rainy season.
There are also areas which are only reachable by boats. Following the arrival of the yearend monsoon and a predicted very wet season with downpours on a near daily basis, candidates on both sides of the political divide will have to brace for rough campaign trails in rural constituencies.
In view that parts of Baram such as Long Panai and Long Bemang as well as Batu Niah are already inundated with flood waters, ’tis truly not a season to hold an election.
Traditionally, PRS is allocated six seats to contest in the general election, namely Julau, Sri Aman, Lubok Antu, Hulu Rajang, Kanowit and Selangau which are all rural seats. In the 2018 general election, PRS lost Julau to then independent candidate Datuk Larry Sng, and Lubok Antu and Selangau to Parti Keadilan Rakyat candidates Jugah Muyang and Baru Bian.
From 1999 to 2018, the constituency of Julau was represented by PRS president Datuk Joseph Salang until he was defeated by Sng who is now in Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), in the last general election. Garnering 10,105 votes, Sng won by a majority of 1,931 against Salang who polled 8,174 votes.
Currently, PRS have two candidates who are ready to wrest back the seat, namely Salang himself and the party’s secretary general Datuk Janang Bungsu. Whoever the candidate is, he is expected to face off against Sng.
In Sri Aman, political secretary to the Premier Dato Sri Doris Sophia Brodie has been announced as the PRS candidate. She may have to face other adversaries instead of incumbent Datuk Masir Kujat who resigned from PRS in 2019 to join Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).
Three months after the 2021 Sarawak election during which he stood as the PSB candidate for Balai Ringin, Masir left PSB and is an independent MP as of now. Rumours have been rife that he would not defend the seat as he has not been spotted in town or any longhouse in his constituency since his departure from PSB.
Lawyer Roy Gingkoi presently is the only known PRS candidate for Lubok Antu. It will be an uphill task for him to wrest back the seat as he is expected to face fierce adversaries in the persons of incumbent MP Jugah Muyang, a former PRS member, and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Engkilili assemblyman Johnichal Rayong who was formerly with Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP).
Meanwhile, for the PRS-held seats of Kanowit and Hulu Rajang, it is most certain that their respective incumbents Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang and Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong will be entrusted with the task of defending the seats.
Of the two seats, Hulu Rajang is the toughest to campaign in as it is the largest constituency in Malaysia, with a size stretching 34,000 square kilometres, almost the size of Pahang. What is worse is that longhouses and settlements are situated far in the upper reaches of the various rivers. For example, just to get to Long Busang will take three hours of driving from Bintulu to reach Bakun, and from there another nine hours’ boat ride to Long Busang. There is a second route to get there, but it will take longer than this route.
Apart from that, there are Penan settlements in Tegulang and Metalun, as well as Lusong Laku, reachable only by a five hours’ drive over logging roads from Bakun.
But Ugak is not complaining. He said he is used to the long hours of travelling over rough terrain or raging rivers. However, due to incessant rain, some areas in Hulu Rajang are already cut off, leaving helicopter as the only option if one desires to reach those places.
Aaron Ago will probably not have to go as far as Ugak to reach to his constituents. Despite being seen as an introvert and loner who cares little for publicity, he is nevertheless a popular guy in his constituency as he has channeled development to his area, albeit quietly. It is believed that he will defend the seat of Kanowit with a high majority as he did in the last general election.
Selangau, a fast-growing constituency due to the spread of oil palm planting is a good case study for rural Sarawak politics. Baru Bian who is a Lun Bawang managed to win this Iban-majority seat in the last election. Of course, he managed to do so not without the help of local warlords and former PRS leaders who were expelled by the party.
Word on the ground is that, having chosen an outsider as their representative who has not managed to bring in much development for the area for the last five years, many voters now have regrets. This has resulted in Selangau now being listed as a white area for PRS. And precisely because it is seen as a white area, it is said that many in the party are interested to be the party’s nominated candidate.
Currently, there are at least three known potential candidates namely Edwin Banta who is a political secretary to the Premier, Senator Rita Insol who stood in 2018 general election and Jawan Kiroh, a young engineer.
As there is concern that internal struggles for the seat may lead to sabotage, there are also calls for Tamin assemblyman Christopher Gira Sambang to be fielded to ascertain a sure victory.
In the 2021 Sarawak Election, Gira faced former Selangau MP Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun from PSB in a straight fight for Tamin. Facing off against an Iban patriarch with deep-rooted support, the young cub managed to prove his prowess by polling 7,778 votes against the former’s 4,190 votes to obtain 3,588 majority. Since PRS has no stringent principle of “no assemblyman for parliamentary seat”, Gira might just be picked as its candidate to settle the issue of candidacy once and for all. — DayakDaily
