By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Nov 3: Julau will be one of the hot seats to watch in Sarawak during the 15th General Elections (GE15) as it is expected to see a straight fight between two party presidents as the nation goes to the polls on Nov 19, 2022.
Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum will be facing off against Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) counterpart Larry Sng in this Iban-majority constituency situated in the Central Region of Sarawak.
This will be the second time the two cross swords in Julau. The first time they clashed was in the 2018 General Election when Sng contested as an independent candidate.
Salang garnered 8,174 votes against Sng’s 10,105 votes, resulting in Sng wresting Julau with a majority of 1,931 votes.
Meanwhile, PRS is fielding three new faces comprising Dato Sri Doris Sophia Brodie in Sri Aman, Roy Gingkoi in Lubok Antu, and Edwin Banta in Selangau.
For Kanowit and Hulu Rajang, incumbents Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang and Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong will be defending the two seats respectively.
PRS is traditionally allocated six federal seats to contest by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition. The party lost three seats in the 2018 General Election namely Julau, Lubok Antu and Selangau.
Later, the party lost Sri Aman following the defection of Datuk Masir Kujat for Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB). After the 2021 Sarawak Election, he subsequently left PSB to be an independent.
PRS candidate Doris is thus expected to face Masir who has announced that he would defend his Sri Aman seat.
For Roy, a young lawyer who is contesting in Lubok Antu, it will definitely be smooth sailing in the face of a strong opponent — Engkilili assemblyman Johnichal Rayong from PSB.
Selangau incumbent Baru Bian from PSB had stated that he will be contesting in Lawas, leaving Selangau an area of with no prominent opponent for the time being.
Edwin is thus expected to be able to claim back the federal seat which comprises Tamin and Kakus State constituencies, whose elected representatives, namely Christopher Gira and Datuk John Sikie Tayai, are both senior PRS leaders. — DayakDaily
