KUCHING: The success of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) hinges on individual popularity of its leaders, said Universiti Malaya (UM) political analyst Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi.
“Their fate in the next state election is akin to that of being an independent candidate. The party will rely heavily on the personalities and popularity of the candidates,” he said when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune yesterday.
“Not more than seven of them stand a fighting chance and let’s not forget that popularity and/or sentiments can change anytime.
“Remember also that their members are no longer connected to local councils or local authorities.
“And they have no minor rural project (MRP) and rural transformation project (RTP) grants which, as political weapons, have proven to be effective in rural areas.”
Awang Azman thinks that party president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh has to be prepared to lose a few of the seats.
He figured that this is because both GPS and Pakatan Harapan (PH) have their respective dedicated supporters. The difference is PH supporters are growing more each day.
In the meantime, Wong’s announcement that PSB would contest in all seats in the next state election is good for democracy.
PSB can contest anywhere, even in by-elections, as this is a democratic country, he noted.
By his calculation, if PSB manages to capture a few seats, he thinks they can act as a good opposition to GPS and PH.
On the other hand, he was of the view that the chances of them losing their deposits are very high in a number of constituencies that they are planning to contest.
“This will cause them to sink even faster in the Sarawak political arena,” Awang Azman said.
