KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak’s ability to choose the right candidates for the upcoming state polls is vital in determining the coalition’s success in the state.
Political analyst and senior lecturer in Politics and Government Studies Dr Arnold Puyok said the opposition may be able to gain some support from the Dayak communities in their respective areas.
However, he said it was also crucial for PH Sarawak to get Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) on board to avoid clashes among the opposition parties.
“Also, given how fragmented the opposition leaders in Peninsular Malaysia are, PH Sarawak will have to work harder in order to gain the people’s trust.,” he said when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune on Sunday (Jan 3).
He was alluding to PH Sarawak coming to an agreement on seat allocations for the 12th state election, with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) contesting in 47 seats, Democratic Action Party (DAP) in 26 seats and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) in nine seats.
Dr Arnold added that similar to Sabah, Sarawak politics is very localised whereby it is important for PH Sarawak leaders to address local issues effectively such as land ownership and performance of the incumbent state representatives.
He also said that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition is at an advantage when facing the state election due to its machineries, network and financial resources.
“After what happened, i.e., the failure of the power transition from Mahathir (former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) to Anwar (PKR chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim), squabbling amongst the opposition leaders and exit of some key opposition leaders in Sarawak, the people have lost trust in PH,” he added.
