KUCHING: A senior lecturer from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) has refuted claims by the opposition that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is rushing to hold the state election due to fear of Undi18.
“If allowed to vote, I think they (the youth) will favour GPS more rather than the opposition,” said Dr Suffian Mansor.
Therefore, he said if Undi18 was in effect during the upcoming Sarawak state election, it would be a huge advantage to GPS.
“They (the youth) will usually follow in the footsteps of their parents in terms of voting pattern, and the majority of voters in Sarawak are more in favour of GPS for this election,” he said when contacted on Wednesday (Nov 10).
He added, however, there might be some slightly changes in this regard as young voters could be influenced by current issues and not follow the voting pattern of their parents.
Nevertheless, he said there would not be a lot of changes, reiterating his view that more youth would favour GPS.
Suffian believed that most voters would vote for GPS as the ruling coalition had a clear vision on the state’s development and also the future of Sarawak.
“I think that is the main reason why people will support GPS. The opposition parties do not seem to be really clear about their objectives or direction,” he said, pointing out that numerous opposition parties had raised the same sentiment of ‘Sarawak for Sarawakians’.
He was of the view that the opposition parties were not very strong as well.
