GABUNGAN Parti Sarawak’s (GPS) super victory in the Sarawak elections will turn the pact into a kingmaker in the upcoming general election, political observers said.

They said Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) would have to forge ties with GPS to win Putrajaya.

Many anticipated and expected GPS to win, they said.

They said the opposition parties’ weaknesses and their lack of preparation to contest contributed to GPS’ win.

The Election Commission’s official results showed GPS had won 71 seats to attain a super majority to form the next Sarawak government.

This coalition won 72 seats in the 2016 elections.

On the opposition front, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) won four seats and DAP took two.

Results of five other seats have not been announced at press time.

This is the first time Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, Parti Rakyat Sarawak, Progressive Democratic Party and Sarawak United Peoples’ Party have won the state polls under their new GPS banner. They were previously part of BN, which collapsed in Sarawak after the 14th general election.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia senior academic Dr Mazlan Ali told The Malaysian Insight that GPS had the upper hand going into the elections as it controlled the narrative of the people and the state’s development.

He said a divided opposition front contributed to GPS’ victory.

“GPS as the state government had a big advantage. They could control the narrative and the political development in Sarawak. GPS also showed it is the only coalition that can guarantee stability in the state.

“Furthermore, the opposition is not united. Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PSB did not work together to face GPS.

“PKR and DAP too had some disagreements going into the elections. People see that as a weakness and they are not convinced. They were not only disorganised, they were also not ready. Therefore, GPS was expected to win big,” he added.

Universiti Malaya academic Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi on the other hand said GPS’ victory showed that the coalition can forge forward without officially becoming a part of BN or PN.

Awang Azman added that the confidence of Sarawak’s voters and their view of GPS exuding stability and harmony were the main factors that sealed the coalition’s victory.

“In addition, GPS has achieved a lot since it started ruling independently from BN and simply by being friendly to PN,” he said.

“This also shows that Sarawak voters have rejected extreme politics such as seceding from Malaysia or extreme racial politics that have become the manifesto of certain political parties,” he said.

He added that if anything, the passing of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 amendment bill merely “added value” to GPS’ victory.

Awang Azman said PN and BN would have to forge good ties with GPS for the upcoming general election.

A force to be reckoned with

Agreeing with Mazlan, Dr Oh Ei Sun of Singapore Institute of International Affairs said GPS had proven to be a force to be reckoned with and must be courted by Peninsular Malaysia parties to form the next federal government.

He also added that the timing of GE15 would not be affected much as it would be determined by the power struggle in Umno.

“The general election will be largely determined by the power struggle in Umno. The mainstream faction in Umno would like to hold the GE before the party elections.

“I think Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants it as soon as possible but Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime minister wants it after party elections,” he said.

Dr James Chin meanwhile said he had predicted the fall of DAP in the Sarawak elections.

“I predicted DAP to lose more this time and I was right. There is an undercurrent in the Chinese community and the undercurrent is so strong DAP might only win three or four seats from the previous seven.

“DAP will have no representation in one major town in northern Sarawak,” the Tasmania University academic in Australia said.

The analysts also agreed that PH would find it difficult to find its way into Sarawak especially if the public’s perception of its 22 months in power does not recover.

PH had just suffered a heavy defeat in the Malacca elections and calls for Anwar Ibrahim to step down as opposition leader has gained momentum. – December 19, 2021.