WOULD-BE candidates in the coming Sarawak state elections are reportedly stepping up the pace of their campaigning schedule the “old-fashion way” before new rules on how they should canvass for votes come into force.

One of them is Edward Luwak, Parti Sarawak Bersatu’s (PSB) pick for the semi-rural seat of Bukit Semuja in Serian, 66km from Kuching.

“Has to be done now and I am doing it,” Luwak told The Malaysian Insight.

Luwak, who contested the seat on the DAP ticket in the last elections, said there is no knowing what the rules for Sarawak would be like.

He said if they are modelled on those for the Malacca elections, then there will be no campaigning, gathering and house-to-house visits after nomination day – rules some candidates see as near-impossible to reach out to the voters in the rural areas of Sarawak. Campaigning online is impractical as internet service in these areas is almost non-existent.

Luwak has been on the move since last year, immediately after joining PSB.

His activity was interrupted for a while when the movement-control order (MCO) was imposed at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic.

He hit the campaign trail again when the restrictions were lifted.

Luwak quit DAP after a major fallout with the party’s Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen.

He said to comply with the state’s current Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP), he does not hold ceramah or large gatherings.

The only way to go, he said, is to have small “berandau” (discussion) sessions in designated homes, a practice that could be banned under the new campaigning rules.

In the 2016 elections, Luwak was one of five candidates vying for the seat, which had 13,365 voters.

The others were Barisan Nasional’s direct candidate John Ilus, who won it by a 3,144-vote majority, independent Frederick Bayoi Manggie, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru’s Cobbold Lusoi and STAR’s Johnny Bob Aput.

Luwak is expecting another multi-cornered fight in the coming polls with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Pakatan Harapan (PH) via DAP and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) expected to field candidates.

“Don’t discount the independents,” he said.

The man DAP has picked to replace Luwak, Brolin Nicholsion, however, has given the impression he has not embarked on the campaign trail when he questioned the conduct of probable candidates who have.

Training his guns specifically on GPS, Nicholsion said the Election Commission has yet to announce the date of the elections and “we can see that some GPS potential candidates are already breaking the law by doing an early campaigning”.

He said the GPS candidates are “clearly violating” section 2(1) of the Election Offences Act 1954.

Ignoring the law, he said, is tantamount to failing to be an example to the people of Sarawak. – November 13, 2021.