KUCHING, Dec 19: A total of RM845,000 worth of deposits were lost when 169 out of 349 candidates failed to secure the minimum one-eighth of the total votes cast in the recently concluded 12th Sarawak Election.
Under the Malaysian election laws, a candidate for a state assembly seat must secure RM5,000 in deposit, which will be forfeited if he or she fails to get 12.5 per cent or one-eighth of the votes cast.
Yesterday, Sarawak witnessed a total of 342 candidates vying for the 82 seats.
Based on the Election Commission (EC) Malaysia’s website, Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) suffered the most ‘casualties’ when 90.4 per cent or 66 out of its 73 candidates tried their luck but failed.
All of Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) 15 candidates who tried their luck at Padungan, Pending, Batu Lintang, Kota Sentosa, Batu Kawah, Serembu, Mambong, Repok, Machan, Bukit Assek, Dudong, Pelawan, Tanjung Batu, Piasau, and Pujut lost their deposits.
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB), who fielded 11 candidates in Dayak-majority seats, namely Opar, Bukit Begunan, Ngemah, Dudong, Pelagus, Katibas, Bukit Goram, Murum, Samalaju, Senadin and Marudi; all met a similar fate.
As for Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), who fielded 28 candidates, 22 lost their deposits.
Thirty Independent candidates also joined the fray, but 23 performed badly when they garnered fewer than 100 votes each and were also among those who lost their RM5,000 deposit.
Meanwhile, five candidates met the same fate in the N52 Dudong seat, which had the largest number of candidates in an eight-cornered fight. — DayakDaily
