DAP has pulled off a coup of sorts in its quest to make inroads into the Dayak interior of Sarawak after recruiting prominent grassroots leader, Joseph Jinggut, analysts said.

Jinggut, the former Kapit district council chairman, was appointed a member of the party’s state committee on Labour Day. He has been handed the task of spearheading DAP’s election campaign in the Kapit division, among others.

Political pundits told The Malaysian Insight that the recruitment is a big plus in the party’s continued quest to penetrate the rural areas.

Long seen as an urban party, in recent years DAP’s Sarawak chapter has been pushing to ramp up its Dayak membership ranks, which analysts feel would help it in its drive to reel in voters from the rural community.

His position in the community and perceived influence would make him an ideal candidate to reach out to Dayak electorates.

Jinggut, a Westmar University graduate in the US, comes from a prominent Kapit family.

His father was a well-respected community leader and his elder brother is the former two-term Ulu Rajang MP Justin Jinggut.

He was an MP for the now defunct Sarawak National Party from 1982 to 1990.

Joseph Jinggut is also the brother-in-law of the current Betong MP, Robert Lawson Chuat.

Jinggut has held a number of important appointed posts while he was an active politician in the ruling government.

He was the chairman of the Kapit district council for 11 years from 1987 to 1998.

He was then made a political secretary to then chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud from 1999 to 2003.

Due to his political links, Jinggut was appointed a member of the board of directors of the state farmers organisation and the chairman of the state youth organisation, Saberkas Kapit division.

Currently, he is the chairman of the Kapit Area Farmers Organisation, which has approximately 7,000 members.

Universiti Putra Malaysia political expert Jayum Jawan believes that DAP had pulled off a major coup in roping in Jinggut.

“Yes, I would say DAP made a good catch in Joseph Jinggut,” the Sarawak-born Jawan said in reference to the politician’s family connections and the many positions he had held.

Jawan believes Jinggut opted for DAP as “he has nowhere to go to serve his community”.

He said the state’s two most dominant parties, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), “do not want anyone to go into the parties and mess up the existing hierarchy”.

“It’s not hard to see why DAP got him. They are hoping Jinggut could generate support from groups like the Kapit Area Farmers Organisation,” Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya told The Malaysian Insight.

But Awang Azman cautioned that Jinggut’s past may not carry much influence in present-day Sarawak.

He may present a challenge to the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak, and especially to PRS, which holds political sway in the upper Rajang region, but Jinggut’s influence in the current landscape is unknown.

“All he has is a record of his nostalgic past.”

Awang Azman said the perceived influence DAP saw in him has not been tested yet and that will only be known after the next state polls, now expected in August.

The academic said hooking up with a prominent local personality would not guarantee DAP any success in penetrating the rural areas.

He said non-Chinese perception of the party could still be a major hurdle to clear.

The general perception among the non-Chinese in general – despite Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s claim that the party has more Dayak members than Chinese – is that they still see DAP as a party dominated by the Chinese, Awang Azman said.

University of Tasmania’s James Chin sees the recruitment as a “DAP fishing trip”.

“Fishing for Dayak votes,” he said.

Chin, nonetheless, said it is consistent with DAP’s long-term plans to capture non-Muslim Bumiputera votes.

PBB, PRS, together with the Sarawak United People’s Party and Progressive Democratic Party are coalition partners in GPS.

“So there is no alternative but to accept whoever who extends the olive branch to push (his agenda) for his community.

“It is natural for Dayaks, especially the Ibans, to look elsewhere other than PBB or PRS to carry their political aspirations for the benefit of the community.” – May 16, 2021.