BY JACINTHA JOLENE AND TANIA MATU
JUST about a day is left before Malaysians get to exercise their rights in electing a new federal government.
Political analyst Dr Lucy Sebli Seidelson of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak talked to New Sarawak Tribune reporters alongside its sister paper, Suara Sarawak on the lead up to polling.
Following are the excerpts of the interview.
ST: What are your comments on the competition among political parties in Sarawak so far?
LUCY: The competition between political parties in Sarawak in this GE15 has been very evident during the campaign period.
For me, this has been very obvious in the hot seats but not in some other areas where chances are winning are slim.
We see the top leadership of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) also helping candidates and going to the field to campaign like in the parliamentary constituencies of Sri Aman, Saratok and others.
ST: What are your views on the campaign strategy implemented by GPS and other parties that are also contesting in this GE15?
Compared to the past, now the way campaigns are conducted is also quite interesting. Aside from physical campaigns, social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and others are also utilised to reach out to the voters. Likewise with GPS, they also use both strategies.
However, what’s important is that candidates who know they have the potential to be chosen need to go to the field earlier to talk to the people about the issues they are not happy with, especially after the 12th state election.This will also make it easier for the candidates to collect feedback and gain support, especially from among young voters.
ST: What are your comments on the manifesto offered by the competing parties in Sarawak, including Pakatan Harapan?
There are many promises offered in the manifesto and looking at what is offered by the parties competing in Sarawak in GE15, there is not much of a difference.
To me, most of their promises are almost the same – that they will prioritise Sarawak, poverty issues, gender equality while GPS’ manifesto is more comprehensive.
The promises of Perikatan Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) look good on paper but to what extent can they keep those promises? Are they really genuine or just trying to fish for votes?
ST: Which has the advantage? And how many seats will be won by GPS?
GPS has proven itself to be a government that can do the job. Of course GPS will win and this cannot be denied.
I see the issue of victory will not be a problem for Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) candidates, especially in areas that are PBB strongholds as there are many developments brought over such as road, water and electricity.
I can conservatively say that GPS will be able to win around 27 seats.
ST: It is expected that none of the alliances in Peninsular Malaysia will emerge dominant in this election. What are your comments?
Sarawak will have an important role in forming the government at the federal level. There are also expectations that PH will be dominant, followed by PN and BN. But if we look at the previous record, Sarawak will remain “friendly” to the Federal Government – it neither supports nor opposes.
ST: GPS is expected to be the kingmaker, what is your view on this matter?
It is true that GPS is needed to form the government but what concerns me is the real issue regarding the promise to Sarawak and the 35 per cent of parliamentary seats for Sarawak.
Sarawak has proven to play an important role and has been promised so many things for so many times, but in terms of allocation for the state, it is still low compared to other states.
ST: Issues concerning the younger generation?
Candidates running for this election need to approach the youths because I see the political awareness among those aged 18 to 20 is still low.
Some youths have told me that they will not be able to make it home for the election due to expensive air fares while some said whether they come back to vote or not, the situation will remain unchanged.
However, there are also a group of youths or students from Unimas who runs a campaign with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to spread awareness among these groups to go back and vote and find solutions to provide funding from statutory or non-statutory bodies to sponsor the students’ airfares.
ST: How to ensure a high turnout rate this election?
At the university level, we have also carried out our responsibilities and encouraged students, especially from Sarawak, to go back and vote, especially those who are voting for the first time.
In addition, the government has also announced two days public holidays on Nov 18 and 19. This will be a good opportunity and will also help in increasing the turnout rate.
ST: Advice to the young voters?
I expect the voters, especially the younger generation, to exercise their rights because this is their right to vote. It doesn’t matter who they vote for, if they don’t go out to vote, should the candidate chosen be not the one they supported, we will have to wait for another five years to change.
It’s pointless and a waste of time. What is best at this time is to exercise your rights as Malaysians. If they want to see more changes, then they must go out and vote. This is the first step to change.
