BOTH Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and the opposition benefit from delay Sarawak elections, with the four-party ruling coalition benefitting just a little more, political analysts said.

They said the extension of the emergency to February 2 will give the key players time to prepare for the polls.

They said GPS will have ample time to reinforce and ramp up the work it has been doing on the ground before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

They said the government could push hard for the people to get vaccinated and at the same time work on a plan to revive the economy before the polls and claim credit for its success

For the opposition, the extension allows them to regroup and work out issues that have proved divisive for them in the last few months.

The Sarawak legislative assembly has 82 seats with GPS holding 69 seats, DAP 10. The PKR won three seats but winners were sacked and since then two joined Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and another Bersatu.

Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Awang Pawi and University of Tasmania’s James Chin said that the highly divided opposition had bought themselves more precious time to come to some sort of a working agreement to face GPS.

“If the opposition are not united against GPS, then quite clearly GPS will steamroll them (in the election),” Chin, an Asian geopolitics expert, said in reference to DAP and Parti Sarawak Bersatu’s bickering over Chinese-majority seats.

Sarawak-born Awang Azman said “injury time” should also be used by the opposition to work for some kind of alliance.

As for GPS, Chin said it would give them more time to complete the vaccination process and have that herd immunity.

“Obviously if they can get the vaccination process completed, the herd immunity plus the economy recovers a little by the end of this year (for a safe) election after February, they can claim credit for it,” Chin added.

GPS is made up of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) the lead party in the coalition, Parti Rakyat Sarawak, Sarawak United People’s Party and Progressive Democratic Party.

Awang Azman said Sarawak folk would be more likely to go out and vote if herd immunity is achieved by then. 

Thus the government will do well to get more people vaccinated towards this end

The Sarawak-born Awang Azman said as the incumbent government, GPS could use the government machinery at its disposal to distribute food and provide welfare assistance to people hard hit by the pandemic.

If it was properly done, it would increase the government’s popularity, he said.

“GPS could also go back to the drawing board and have another look at their election strategies in the extended time.
 
“How each seat could be won better and resolve lingering issues like its relationship with Bersatu,” he said alluding to Bersatu’s request to be given five seats to contest in the election.

Bersatu has one seat in the state assembly, Krian. Ali Biju won the seat on a PKR ticket in the last two elections before he was sacked last year for not supporting his president Anwar Ibrahim.

He went on to join Bersatu.

Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Jayum Jawan said the ruling parties will always enjoy “an unfair advantage” in an election campaign.

Apart from having government machinery at its disposal, Jawan said the GPS was facing opposition that was less organised and do not have an extensive support network.
 
“The exception could be DAP. Even PKR does not have an extensive network in the state as it is basically a Malayan party. 

“Other parties are basically new such as PSB and PBK (Parti Bumi Kenyalang).”

PKR Sarawak information chief Abun Sui Anyit said the opposition, particularly its candidates in rural constituencies, stood to lose more by the extension of the state of emergency.

“We couldn’t move around,” he said in reference to the inter-district travel ban that is in place to curb the transmission of the Covid-19.

Abun, PKR’s pick for the Belaga seat, is based in Miri while Belaga is in the Kapit division, 276km away.

Abun said moving around Miri was  “no problem. My office is here in Miri”.

“But for those of us who are staying outside our constituency, we cannot go back to our constituency. I cannot go back to my longhouse freely as I wish.I need a permit.

Anyit, a lawyer, said going to Belaga to campaign is not an acceptable reason for travel.

He said GPS incumbents and candidates have no such travel restrictions.

“GPS can move about… Of course GPS gains more and opposition gains nothing.” – August 8, 2021.