NATIONAL political leaders, particularly from Umno, could be watching the Sarawak elections closely to look for signs when it’s best to call a general election, Merdeka Centre’s Ibrahim Suffian said in an online forum last night.

“We all know what the result would be,” he said, alluding to the four-party Gabungan Party Sarawak coalition led by Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg winning the state polls.

Ibrahim said leaders will be looking at the margin of victory, how Abang Johari will address internal dissent, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), and how will he emerge from all of this.

The answers, Ibrahim said, “will set the stage for national elections”.

“A lot of the politicians in Kuala Lumpur are looking at Sarawak in order to gauge the momentum for the general election.

“If GPS wins, it means the mood is with them (and) they would want to press for an earlier general election.”

Ibrahim echoed rumours that the government could call a general election before Ramadan, which is due to commence on April 3.

Ibrahim said between now and then could be a volatile political period within Umno, as factions battle for either an early general election or early party elections.

On the other hand, he said if the general election is not held soon, then the big question mark for leaders of opposition parties is if they have enough time to recover after back-to-back electoral setbacks in Malacca and Sarawak.

“They are heading towards a very challenging time. The rest of 2022 is going to be a long period of soul searching, licking their wounds and finding a way to come back.

“Will they be able to do that? Time will tell.” – December 16, 2021.