GABUNGAN Parti Sarawak could be in for a tough fight for the Opar seat in all eight of the Bidayuh-majority seats in the Sarawak elections, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) political expert Novel Lyndon said.

The other seven Bidayuh seats are Tasik Biru, Serembu, Mambong, Tarat, Tebedu, Kedup and Bukit Semuja. Opar is in the unhurried coastal town of Lundu in southern Sarawak.

The incumbent, Ranum Mina of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), has held the seat for three terms since the seat was first contested in 2006.

The former army major first won the seat as a Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) candidate and defended it in the 2011 election as a SUPP man.

In the 2016 elections, he was fielded as a Barisan Nasional (BN) “direct candidate” as PSB – then known as United People’s Party (UPP) – was not a member of the Sarawak BN. It was only a “friendly party” to BN.

Novel said the GPS candidate in the upcoming elections, Billy Sujang, a former health officer who was fighting the Covid-19 pandemic before quitting the civil service, has a chance of unseating Ranum if he “puts in more hard work and is aggressive”.

“Billy needs to be more aggressive,” he said in an online talk show this morning.

Apart from the age-old argument that Bidayuhs should side with “the party that could help them”, Novel’s optimism could also be from the close call Ranum had in the 2016 polls result.

Even though Ranum triumphed in a four-cornered fight against candidates from PKR, Parti Bansa Dayak Baru (PBDSB) and an independent, he only just pulled through.

Ranum polled 3,665 votes and was declared the victor by a 2,082-vote majority but a deeper analysis showed that the 3,656 votes cast for his three opponents –Niponi Undek-Ind (1,583 votes), Francis Teron-PKR (1,549) and Patrick Uren-PBDSB (524) – gave him an edge of only nine votes.

Novel said two other Bidayuh seats, Mambong and Tebedu, could also see tough fights but to a lesser degree.

A question mark had been raised on the Mambong seat after it became controversial when SUPP, which had been allocated the seat since 1970, failed to get it back.

The incumbent of Mambong is the party-hopping former SUPP and PSB dissident Dr Jerip Susil.

Jerip was among the SUPP dissidents who was sacked by the party after a leadership crisis. After which he followed his mentor Wong Soon Koh who went on to form PSB.

He was the deputy president of PSB until July last year when he inexplicably dumped the party for Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the lead party in the GPS coalition.

Like Ranum, Jerip was also a BN direct candidate in the last elections and was in a three-cornered fight with Sanjan Daik of DAP and Willie Mongin of PKR.

This election, the field had got a little bigger for Jerip who – reportedly beset by resentment and dissatisfaction among GPS supporters – now faces four challengers for this seat of 19,315 voters.

He will again renew the fight with Sanjan, who had switched political allegiance and is now in the colours of Jerip’s previous party, PSB.

DAP had fielded Chang Hon Hiung and two pro-independence parties – Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak (Aspirasi) is fielding Chong Siew Hung, while Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) is putting up Joshua Roman.

PKR sitting out this round

Novel said in the case of Tebedu, which had been held by PBB vice-president Michael Manyin Jawong for five terms, the candidate replacing Manyin is unknown.

Manyin, the education, science and technological research minister in the outgoing state government, had called time on his political career.

Novel said the GPS pick to succeed Manyin, Dr Simon Sinang Bada, has the proverbial big shoes to fill as “he is inheriting a legacy”.

A new face, he said, is also vulnerable due to inexperience.

This seat of 12,040 will also be keenly contested with Sinang facing Senior William Rade of PKR, Jonathan Lantik of PBK, independent Roland Bangu and Cheyne Kambeng Raymond Achen of PSB. – December 14, 2021.