PARTI Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan has brushed aside Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof’s call for  the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate to win the Jepak by-election unopposed, saying a walkover would “kill democracy”.

Fadillah, the GPS chief whip in parliament, yesterday said it would be “a waste of money” for the opposition parties to run in the contest, saying it  would be better for them to “keep the money, save the energy (and) wait for a much bigger election”.

Fadillah said this is because GPS is bound to win.

Voon today said it should be GPS who should withdraw from the contest if it believes in democracy.

“GPS is in control of the Dewan Undangan Negeri (state assembly) and it was a nearly clean sweep in the last 12 Sarawak elections.

Voon said the opposition practically does not have a voice in the 82-seat assembly.

GPS has 76 seats, making for a two-thirds majority. DAP has two and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), four.

But PSB is in talks to merge with the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), one of the four parties in the GPS coalition, and if the merger goes through, the party would return to the fold of the ruling coalition.

Voon said DAP could not be considered the opposition in Sarawak because GPS is partners with DAP at the federal level.

“By this arrangement, DAP cannot be an effective mouthpiece of the opposition.”

PBK is fielding Stevenson Joseph Sumbang in Jepak while GPS has named former Sarawak director of the National Anti-Drug Agency, Iskandar Turkee, as its candidate for the November 4 by-election.

Another pro-independence party, Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak, is also joining the fray with Bintulu businessman Chieng Lea Phin as its candidate.

Stevenson ran for the seat in the 2021 state elections and lost his deposit.

In the four-way fight for the Malay-Melanau majority seat, Stevenson receive only 587 votes to Talib’s 6, 277.

The other two candidates were Raba’ah Tudin of PSB, who picked up 2,034 votes and independent Tuah Kazan, who gained 141 votes.

Nominations are set for tomorrow for the seat, which fell vacant following the death of its assemblyman Talib Zulpilip on September 15.

Talib had held the constitunency for six terms since its creation in 1996. – October 20, 2023.