Political analysts believe that Democratic Action Party (DAP) may only hold two seats in Sarawak after the 15th general election (GE15).
The two seats are presumably Bandar Kuching and Lanang Parliamentary constituencies.
Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen, 36, represents the Bandar Kuching Parliamentary constituency and is seeking for a second term.
Dr Yii, who is also the DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) chairman, is the country’s new generation leader. In fact, he is considered to have the potential to succeed his boss, Chong Chieng Jen, as the leader of Sarawak DAP.
Dr Yii has a well-liked personality, is relatively approachable, not radical, and seen as a capable, wise and tolerant during his first term as a Member of Parliament (MP).
Bandar Kuching constituency is one of the DAP’s strongholds in Sarawak, after winning it in 2004 from Datuk Song Swee Guan, the former mayor of Kuching South City Council (MBKS).
Chieng Jen presided over this parliamentary constituency for three terms before passing it to Dr Yii in 2018 so that he could take the Stampin seat and oust the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, at the time.
Dr Yii defeated SUPP Women chief Kho Teck Wan with a margin of 35,973 votes in 2018, thus positioning himself as the new face of the DAP in style.
The truth is that there was a preconceived notion among Kuching Chinese that they didn’t really care about the person who was given the seat.
They prefer someone who is anti-establishment because they know that person will continue to fight for their rights.
Due to its role as a city and as a focal point, development will continue in the heart of Kuching no matter who the elected representative is.
Despite being under opposition hands, development will continue to flow through the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and the Kuching District Office.
People here don’t really care about politics, according to a seasoned politician who refused to be identified and who constantly observes the local political developments.
This time, Dr Yii is facing off with a new face from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Tay Tze Kok, and an experienced politician contesting under Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Voon Lee Shan.
For the record, there is a noticeable rise in the number of voters in the constituency; in 2018, there were 81,856 registered voters, compared to 190,908 this year.
Demographically, there are three state constituencies under Bandar Kuching, namely Padungan, Pending and Batu Lintang.
Except for Batu Lintang constituency which is represented by See Chee How (Independent), the other two state constituencies are DAP strongholds.
Meanwhile, the Lanang parliamentary constituency, which DAP still controls and hopes to retain, is another one that is being hotly contested.
In 2018, Alice Lau Kiong Yieng (DAP) won this seat after defeating Kong Sie Chiu (BN-SUPP) with a margin of 14,546 votes.
On the surface, the white-faced and gentle Alice appears to be on shaky grounds. Unlike last term, when the rocket logo was flown in each of the state constituencies under Lanang, now both state constituencies are flying the GPS flag.
GPS captured Bukit Assek in last year’s state election through Chieng Jin Ek, whereas the “great dragon of Sibu,” Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, wrested the Dudong seat from DAP.
Will Alice still be able to keep her seat this time?
Alice, a 41-year-old pharmacist with a background in politics, is said to be able to give her opponents a tough fight due to her outstanding performance throughout her two terms as MP.
It’s interesting to note that Alice is the millionaire’s daughter of Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) chairman for Sarawak’s central region, Datuk Lau Cheng Kiong.
This family truly believes that democracy is practised freely by everyone and that ideological differences shouldn’t cause problems in the family structure.
The question now is whether Tiong and the senior Lau will come down to campaign here. The senior Lau may take a low-key approach and let his men form a line.
Alice may be lucky as well, because Tiong is currently busy not just campaigning for himself in Bintulu, but also leading the campaigns in three other PDP seats, two of which were previously held by the opposition.
In 2022, the Lanang parliamentary constituency has 87,315 registered voters compared to 61,973 in 2018. Of this number, 56,610 people are Chinese voters; 20,821 Iban voters and 6,757 Malay/Melanau voters.
The other candidates for this seat are Priscillia Lau (PSB), a former deputy chairman of the Sibu Municipal Council Wong Ching Yong (GPS), and Wong Tiing Kiong (Independent).
Based on intelligence reports, DAP will retain these two seats because of the candidate’s personality, which is young, people-oriented and friendly to the new generation.
However, they must struggle to deflect assaults not just from political opponents, but also from the public, who are dissatisfied with the DAP and Pakatan Harapan’s performances (or lack of it) during its 22 months in power.
GPS as the main rival will have to work hard to compete with these two candidates, who are both energetic and good-looking.
DAP however, is reportedly facing stiff competition in the other seats it is contesting, namely Stampin, Mas Gading, Sibu and Sarikei.
