PARTI Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Joseph Salang Gandum is Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s (GPS) biggest casualty losing again in the Julau parliamentary seat to once friend turned foe, Larry Sng, who contested the seat under the banner of Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM).

Salang, who lost this Dayak-majority seat of 34,850 in the last election, failed to wrest it back in this when the votes he garnered, 7,819 was not enough to dislodge Larry who polled 9,159 to win by a majority of 1, 340 votes.

The 71-year-old Salang, who had served as the deputy minister of information, communications and culture, deputy minister of energy, water and communications and deputy minister of foreign affairs in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administrations of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak, was an 11th hour pick.

He had held the seat for four terms between 1999 and 2018.

In the four-way fight, independent Elly Lawai Ngalai picked up a respectable 5,224 votes while Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak’s (PBDS) Susan George lost her deposit when she could only poll 335 votes.

Larry contested the seat as an Independent in GE14 and in a straight fight, ousted Salang by a 1,931-vote majority.

A new face in PRS, Roy Gingkoi, in another Dayak-majority seat of Lubok Antu, scraped through by fending off incumbent Jugah Muyang who contested under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner and another big name in Engkilili, assemblyman Johnichal Rayong Ngipa.

Rayong is from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).

Gingkoi, contesting under the GPS banner, polled 6,644 to Rayong’s 6,544 to win by a mere 100 votes.

Incumbent Jugah, who will go down as a one-term MP, polled 5,360 votes.

The fourth candidate in the contest, PH’s Langga Lias lost his deposit having polled 746 votes.

There was good news for GPS in the Sri Aman seat where PRS Women chief Doris Sophia Brodi managed to wrest back the Dayak-majority seat in a four-way fight.

Brodi polled 14,131 votes while her nearest challenger businessman Wilson Entabang of PSB polled 10,092 votes to win by 4,039 votes.

Masir Kujat, who held the seat for three terms, in the 2008, 2013 and 2018 GEs on the GPS-PRS ticket only polled 5,673 votes this time around as an Independent candidate.

Kujat had also contested in last December’s Sarawak state election, on a PSB ticket, in the seat of Balai Ringin lost by 1,285 votes to GPS-PRS’ Youth chief Snowdan Lawan.

By midnight, the EC dashboard officially declared GPS to have won 20 seats, PH through DAP, four seats and PN and PBM one each.

The 20 seats are:

1.     Santubong where Nancy Shukri thumped PH’s Mohamad Zen Peli and independent Affendi Jeman to win with 38,681 votes.

2.     Petrajaya (caretaker senior works minister Fadillah Yusof).

3.     Kota Samarahan (Rubiah Wang).

4.     Puncak Borneo (Willie Mongin).

5.     Serian (Richard Riot).

6.     Batang Sadong where Rodiyah Sapiee defeated PH candidate Cikgu Lahaji.

7.     Batang Lupar.

8.     Sri Aman.

9.     Lubok Antu.

10.  Betong.

11.  Tg Manis.

12.  Igan.

13.  Sarikei.

14.  Kanowit.

15.  Mukah.

16.  Selangau.

17.  Kapit.

18.  Hulu Rajang.

19.  Sibuti.

20.  Lawas.

The five undeclared seats are Sibu, Bintulu, Limbang and Baram where voting at 11 stations were suspended when election workers and ballot boxes could not be ferried in by air, land or river due to bad weather and floods in Baram. – November 19, 2022.