PARTI Sarawak Bersatu’s (PSB) Johnical Rayong Ngipa lost his bid to challenge the general election result for the Lubok Antu parliamentary seat at the High Court in Kuching today.

Judge Duncan Sikodol ruled that Rayong had failed to prove his allegations of widespread bribery and voter intimidation on the part of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate Roy Angau Gingkoi, who won by a slender 100-vote margin.

Sikodol ordered Rayong to pay Angau RM10,000, with another RM10,000 to the returning officer and the Election Commission (EC).

Rayong, the assemblyman for Engkilili, claimed in his petition that: “general bribery, general treating or general intimidation have so extensively prevailed that it may be reasonably supposed to have affected the result of the election”.

Angau filed to strike out the petition on Wednesday, while the returning officer and the EC filed similar objections on the same day.

Rayong had also alleged that the returning officer failed to conduct a recount when requested.

In the four-way fight for this Dayak-majority seat with 19,294 votes counted, Angau took the victory with 6,644 votes, compared to Rayong’s 6,544.

The other two candidates were the incumbent Jugah Muyang (Perikatan Nasional), and Langga Lias (Pakatan Harapan). – March 17, 2023.