By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Dec 6: The predominantly Iban voters of N30 Balai Ringin will see a three-corner fight during the 12th Sarawak Election.
Three-term incumbent Datuk Snowdan Lawan will faced his former party member from Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Datuk Masir Kujat, who is now representing Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) along with Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) candidate Kasim Mana.
Political pundits see the contest in the constituency as one that wilk see Snowdan and Masir battling out after the latter switched allegiance to PSB in 2019.
However, not much is known about the PBK candidate Kasim, and he could be a dark horse in the three-corner contest.
Masir, the current Sri Aman MP since 2008 and former deputy home minister, and Snowdan, who is also the State Assistant Minister of Youth and Sport, will turn to their hardcore supporters in this Iban heartland to gain the upper hand.
Both Masir and Snowdan are well known public figures in the constituency, and both have shared and done much for the people in the rural Balai Ringin constituency.
Nonetheless, Snowdan had been the representative in the area since 2006, and in the 2016 Sarawak Election under the Barisan Nasional flag, he won with a total of 4,478 votes.
He outgunned independent candidate Entusa Imam who garnered 2,349 votes, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Micholas Mujah Ason with 700 votes and Pok Ungkot from Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDS) who got 90 votes. — DayakDaily
