UNDETERRED by its losses in the Sarawak elections last month, the bruised and battered Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) still believes in its independence agenda and is already rallying for the general election expected next year.

PBK, founded by former DAP assemblyman Voon Lee Shan, fielded 73 candidates but did not win a single seat in December’s polls.

To rub salt into the wound, 66 of the candidates lost their RM5,000 deposit for failing to secure more than one-eighth of the votes.

With only one item on its manifesto – to tear up the Malaysian Agreement 1963 and declare Sarawak an independent nation –  Voon said to move forward, the party must do some housekeeping.

Voon said the first task in reorganisation is to set up 12 divisions and cultivate grassroots support before the general election, which must be held by mid-2023. There is speculation it could be called this year.

The 12 new divisions will be administrative in nature only, a departure from the usual practice of political parties to set up a division in each of the state’s 31 parliamentary constituencies.

PBK will set up a division each in Kuching, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah,Bintulu, Kapit, Miri and Limbang.

At branch level, it will have one in each of the 82 state seats, said Voon.

Independence agenda

Pro-independence Sarawakians seek to cut ties with Peninsula Malaysia in favour of self governance. The sentiment arises after years of Sarawak being left behind in development while much of the state’s interior has languished in poverty. Federal policies have left locals feeling shortchanged and shorn of their rights as set down in the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

However, such sentiments have failed to translate into votes in elections.

Another party championing the agenda is the Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) led by Lina Soo. It, too, failed to win any of the seats it contested in the elections last month.

PBK made its electoral debut in 2018 in the Sarikei parliamentary seat, which it failed to win. The candidate received only 300 votes..

Voon, who was the Batu Lintang assemblyman from 2006 to 2011, failed to win back the Kuching urban seat in the state elections last month.

He is unperturbed by the lack of support. Rather he is proud that the party was able to field candidates in 73 constituencies.

“It has buoyed spirits and amazed many political observers,” he said of the high number of PBK candidates in the polls.

“PBK is the only political party in the last 58 years to be able to field such a number of candidates.”

Many of the candidates reportedly funded their own campaigns. 

Despite the party winning nothing, Voon said “the public has seen great potential in this party”.

Once the divisions and branches are set up, PBK will cast the net for potential candidates to field in the general election.

Voon said the party is targeting young people whom they can groom for the polls.

He said “Sarawak has the intrinsic right to be independent and not to be controlled by any colonial masters”.

“This intrinsic right of independence is allowed under the UN resolution 1514 and under international law. There is no prohibition under the Federal Constitution for any citizen to speak about independence,” he added.

In the state polls last month, Voon had claimed that the PBK campaign was undermined by “a few irresponsible Sarawakian politicians” who had stoked fears of bloodshed if Sarawak were to gain independence. – January 18, 2022.