By Siti Nurain Ratani
KUCHING: The question of when the 15th General Election (GE15) will be called may still be a mystery, but it is certain that parties in the country are making preparations to face it, especially in shoring up their strength and fostering understanding between their component parties.
On its part the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is also ready to get into gear to face the election, with 31 parliamentary seats at stake in the state.
What is the direction and strategy devised by GPS to face the upcoming GE15?
Political analysts are of the opinion that it has worked hard to bring better development and direction to the state all of which translated to its thumping success in the 12th State Election in December last year.
Suara Sarawak reporter, SITI NURAIN RATANI and photographer ABDUL HAKEEM interviewed Sarawak political sociologist, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR NOVEL LYNDON, who is also lecture at the development, social and environmental research centre, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, delve further into the coalition’s political journey.
SUARA SARAWAK (SS): The success of GPS in the 12th State Election (PRN) was seen in December last year … is it as prepared to face the GE15?
DR NOVEL LYNDON: Under GPS led by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, many plans have been made by him including increasing state revenue and bringing in more development.
In fact, Abang Johari’s leadership – for more than five years – has taken Sarawak and the people to a higher level to achieve Sarawak’s development agenda and his leadership has put Sarawak on the right path to achieve developed state status by 2030.
Not only that, GPS is seen as committed to continuing the socio-economic development agenda to create a source of wealth as well as generate more employment and business opportunities for the youth and the future of Sarawak.
It is to ensure the continued prosperity of Sarawak so that the people can enjoy the benefits of planned, holistic and inclusive economic growth and development.
GPS’s victory in GE15 can be achieved if politicians provide the best service to the people and the voters they represent. If politicians give the best service to the people, surely the people will support them.
SS: Will the success of GPS also provide stability to the politics of Sarawak and Malaysia?
DR NOVEL LYNDON: Political stability in Malaysia, especially in Sarawak, is very important so that the government can pursue the planned development agenda. In fact, political stability is the main agenda that voters in the state want to see.
If politics is stable, it will facilitate and streamline the administration and planning of the state government under the leadership of the Premier.
It can be seen through the big victory of GPS in the last PRN12 which shows the result of the efforts of the Sarawak government which is committed to many development projects.
Usually, the people of Sarawak, regardless whether they are adults or young people, just want a stable government because when the government is stable, only then can the government form or formulate policies that benefit the people.
SS: Is the GPS model of development politics still the main factor for the majority of voters?
DR NOVEL LYNDON: GPS’ victory in the last State Election (PRN) is described as a reflection of the people’s desire to have a stable government and to lead the state in an effort to restore the economy.
There is no doubt that the people of Sarawak also crave physical development projects, development projects that are human capital and development projects that involve the participation of the locals.
For example, in agricultural projects, Sarawak is always committed to developing Native Customary Rights (NCR) land for agriculture by farmers such as oil palm plantations through the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) or rubber farming through the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA). And this turned out to be fruitful in bringing development to the villages in particular.
Thus, this agenda (development politics) is needed by the people because we agree that the country is currently in a state of inflation due to political instability in the Asian region and also in the world.
The government is in the process of restoring the economic situation but when there is political instability in the Asian region, this polemic causes the government to be in a bad economic situation.
However, this needs to be resolved and addressed best by the government because what is easily blamed by the people is the government, not others because they are the ones who rule the state.
What is the most appropriate action of the government now is to explain to the people what is going on out there that is causing inflation… the people need to be given a clearer understanding of this issue.
SS: With the current situation revolving around GE15, can you tell us a little about the strength of GPS?
DR NOVEL LYNDON: GPS, if we look using analysis, the strength of this party is first and foremost the fact that it is the most stable political party in Malaysia, based on PBB and supported by SUPP, PDP and PRS.
Secondly, the strength of GPS is because they are leaders who are on average people-oriented. If we look during the weekends, many Assemblymen go to the ground and hand over the Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) projects or the Minor Rural Projects (MRP) to each village.
Apart from that, I also understand that every leader who is at the helm of GPS is audited by the Premier himself to see if their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are achieved.
The third strength of GPS is that it is a party that supports their motto of prioritising Sarawak. That is a slogan that is very close to the people of Sarawak and is a binder to the power of GPS itself.
Apart from that, the strength of GPS is also that the projects announced attracts the attention of the people. Among them are hydrogen, the development of digital technology, the construction of road projects connecting each division and district as well as projects that are close to the people, especially agriculture.
Meanwhile, the strength of GPS also comes through the GPS captain himself, the personality of Sarawak Premier Abang Johari. He is a symbol that binds the power of GPS.
SS: What is meant by the leadership personality owned by GPS?
DR NOVEL LYNDON: Abang Johari has a very open personality, hence, his video clips which often use the phrases ‘ketek’ and ‘sik berasa’ get the attention of the general public and spread on social media.
These two Sarawak Malay phrases became quite popular in the state so that many people made it a pronunciation and Abang Johari accepted it well.
He also did not mind the actions of the public, especially social media users who often use both terms and welcomed the response of the public who spread his video clip mentioning the term on social media.
This reflects that the way he speaks is seen as friendly to the people, has no protocol, no formal terms and is approachable. This is also one of the strengths of GPS for me because his personality is quite close to the people.
SS: What is your view on the slogan Utamakan Sarawak or Sarawak First?
DR NOVEL LYNDON: This slogan or term is statehood, but this is what the people of Sarawak want because for them this approach is based on the theory of the needs and wants of the people.
Through this slogan, it gives confidence to the people that their needs and interests will come first thus giving confidence in GPS’s ability to build a strong state government and be able to fight for their position at the central government level.
Therefore, this slogan is important to ensure that the rights of Sarawak enshrined in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63) are realised.
When we talk about Sarawak First, this means that Sarawak is long behind in the era of development. For example, we go to Kuala Lumpur and the peninsula. Why is this area developing well and having many facilities when Sarawak has not reached that level? It is questionable because Sarawak is an oil producing state.
That’s a narrative that happens a lot… the narrative of people who are thirsty, hungry for development. Therefore, with the main slogan of Sarawak, it is to ensure that the people of Sarawak are not left behind in the development process, especially those involving eco-education and social aspects.
SS: What about digital development which is the main agenda of Sarawak to develop the state?
DR NOVEL LYNDON: Speaking of digitalisation, the Sarawak Government has planned this far-sighted strategic development, one of which is the digital economy to enable Sarawak to achieve developed state status by 2030.
But the question is whether the people of Sarawak themselves will become players or just spectators? This needs to be given attention now in ensuring that the people of Sarawak themselves become players in this digitalisation sector.
To respond to this approach, the first thing that GPS needs to do is to increase Internet accessibility in all parts of the state, especially in suburban and rural areas.
It will also have a real impact on the people, especially the young, to be involved in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
If we take the example of the villages around Serian, in the past I had never seen food delivery men reach the villages, now, many Grab Food and Food Pandas have begun to enter the village to bring food orders to the villagers. This means that the villagers have also begun to get closer to the world of digital technology.
Therefore, Internet access must be accessible among the rural and suburban population for them to be an important catalyst in changing the real economic pattern of Sarawak. Sarawak might provide free broadband or WiFi that can be used by every village.
SS: UNDI18 will also be implemented before the next election. In your view, will there be a change in the GPS campaign pattern?
Career and social activities are the main factors that will determine the influence of voting patterns on young people, especially on UNDI18. Those factors need to be done by every party to appeal to the youth as they are the future of the country.
Political parties need to talk about policies that are interesting and close to the hearts of young voters such as the issue of many job opportunities.
For Sarawak politics, the people, especially the young, are in dire need of development that provides employment opportunities for this group.
Furthermore, these young people prefer the approach through sports and entertainment as it attracts them with the concept of leisure such as motorsports, futsal and so on.
This is the nature of young people so I think GPS needs to see what the nature of these young people is. It also means that every Assemblyman in their respective constituencies has to make a questionnaire form on what the young people need and how the response of these Assemblymen will be to the requests of the young people. I believe that it can be done because it is also closely linked to UNDI18 and will also indirectly strengthen the position of the GPS in Sarawak.
SS: There are 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak of which 18 are currently held by GPS. Will GPS be able to sweep all 31 seats in the upcoming GE15?
DR NOVEL LYNDON: Out of the 31 parliamentary seats, I am quite realistic and confident that GPS will win around 26 or 27 seats.
I am not confident they will win all 31 seats due to the current situation where the people are burdened by rising prices of goods and inflation and economic recession.
However, in order for GPS to sweep all 31 seats, it will need to consider placing young candidates in GE15. Featuring new leaders from among young people proves the government they vote for is more dynamic and open.
This will also make GPS win the majority of seats in Sarawak in GE15, compared to Peninsular Malaysia. When GPS becomes the leader, in other words kingmaker, they can get many benefits out of it, for example in claiming the rights of the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63).
SS: What about the term kingmaker?
DR NOVEL LYNDON: As a kingmaker, GPS will be expected to serve as a conduit of stability during power struggles and changes in political cooperation in the peninsula. If GPS wins a large majority of seats in Sarawak, there are coalitions or parties who would want to cooperate with GPS to strengthen power at the federal level.
This relentless politicking needs to be taken advantage of by GPS. Furthermore, GPS has proven their strength in Sarawak, I believe GPS will be the backbone to the formation of a stable government.
Therefore, with what the Sarawak Government has implemented to date, there is no reason for the people not to support GPS especially in the next election.
