THE coronavirus crisis and state of emergency have put paid to election plans, triggering a new past-time – guessing when the polls will be called.

Ask anyone in the street when they think the 12th state elections will be held and the answers are as varied as the state’s ethnic groups. The guesses range from any time now to the end of the year, and the many days in between.

Some even believe the continuing high number of new daily Covid-19 cases will scuttle plans for elections altogether and that Putrajaya will take over the administration of Sarawak until the pandemic is over.

On Friday, the state reported 555 new infections, the highest number in a day since the first cause was detected in March last year.

The state legislative assembly’s mandate expires on June 6 after which it will automatically dissolve. 

When elections will be called is information that Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg holds closely to his chest but signs indicate the time is sooner rather than later.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin made a two-day “working visit” to the state last week and Abang Johari’s public appearances have picked up pace since he completed his course of vaccination.

Federal officials such as Senior Works Minister Fadillah Yusof, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin and  Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Willie Mongin have also appeared in in Sarawak on the Prihatin aid programme.

Accountant Josh John says his “wild guess” is that the elections will be held in July.

He based his guess on the flags GPS have been planting everywhere recently

“July perhaps, before the flags’ lifespan ends. These flags have a life span,” he said.

After July, these flags will be “torn up and useless”.

Lawyer Desmond Kho has a hunch polls will be held just after Gawai – the Dayak rice harvest festival on June 1. Kho predicated his guess on the time of the roll-out of Prihatin aid.

Former Sarawak PKR youth leader Simon Siah said balloting will not take place until the emergency ends in August.

It will be against the interest of GPS to call form polls now, he said.

Siah said the areas most affected by the pandemic now are those in the rural areas, which are GPS strongholds.

“With a lot of SOPs in place, their (election) machinery may not be able to move effectively,” he said.

“Therefore they (GPS) will likely ensure that most Sarawakians have been vaccinated before calling the election.

“That’s why the target for (completing) vaccination in Sarawak is August.”

Siah said it could benefit the ruling coalition if Abang Johari were to ignore the pandemic and call for elections because opposition Pakatan Harapan voters and election workers from the peninsula would not be able to reach the state to vote or assist in the campaign.

“But (then again) there is no certainty that the voters in the rural area are willing to go out and vote.

“If they have to comply with SOP, how many people can they pack into the vans that will take them to the voting centres?

“I have campaigned in town and kampung… in the kampung, logistics are very, very important. And based on how the BN ( Barisan Nasional) used to campaign in the past, this current SOP as it stands is going to be very difficult for them.”

It was speculated that GPS had wanted to hold elections last October but was deterred by a sudden spike in Covid cases.

“If I were the chief minister, I wouldn’t dare call an election now. Everything is very uncertain.”

At the 2016 elections, BN Sarawak and its partner United People’s Party won 72 of the 82 seats in the state assembly.

BN was made up of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).

PBB won the lion’s share with 39 seats, followed by PRS (11), SUPP ( 7 ), PDP ( 4 ) and UPP ( 4 ).

BN Sarawak is now known as GPS and its seats have been reduced to 68 following the withdrawal of UPP, which has been rebranded as Parti Sarawak Bersatu.

DAP holds seven and of the three seats won by Sarawak RKR, two went to PSB and one to Bersatu. – April 11, 2021.