OFTEN accused of being spoilers, the handful of small political parties in Sarawak are finding the going tough in GE14.

Apart from financial constraints and logistical challenges in rural areas where roads are mostly non-existent, they face the big two – Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan.

The political scene in Sarawak, a state of more than 40 ethnic sub-groups and tribes, has had a long tradition of defections from one party to another and splinter parties, each fighting for position to represent various communities.

The largely unheard of Sarawak Peace Party, which has fielded two women candidates in the federal seats of Sibu and Lanang in central Sarawak, faced accusations that they were in the running to split votes.

The party had fielded Priscilla Lau in Lanang and Jamie Tiew in Sibu.

Lau will be in a three-way fight with the DAP incumbent Alice Lau and BN’s Kong Sien Chiu.

Tiew will be in a four-way contest against BN’s Andrew Wong, DAP incumbent Oscar Ling and the State Reform Party’s (Star) Tiong Ing Tung.

Lanang and Sibu are key Chinese-majority seats which state BN component party, the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) have made a priority to wrest back.

Lau and Tiew have had to spend the better part of their campaign so far denying accusations levelled at them.

Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB), which prior to nomination day had stated they would contest in “up to 10” federal seats, had to settle for only one after some pressure from PH not to field any candidates in the election.

However, PBDSB, which is focused on the state’s Dayak community, did not give in to PH’s pressure over the Sri Aman seat, which it considers to be in the Dayak heartland.

As such, the PBDSB candidate for Sri Aman, party president Cobbold John, will end up running against PH’s Norina Umoi Utot from PKR, besides the BN incumbent from Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Masir Kujat.

This federal seat has 33,016 voters of whom 76% are of the Iban ethnic tribe.

Sarawak’s other non-aligned parties in this election are Star which is contesting in five seats – Puncak Borneo, Lubok Antu, Betong, Bintulu and Sibu – and Parti Buni Kenylang (PBK) which is fielding only one candidate, its Sarikei chairman Wong Ching King in the DAP held Sarikei seat. – May 1, 2018.