Will Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian (left) be challenged in Batu Kawah by Chong Chieng Jen?
Commentary: Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian and Chong Chieng Jen in a straight-fight for Batu Kawah – now that’ll be the showdown to watch if it does happen in the coming 12th Sarawak election.
The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president is set to make his first defence of the seat but the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chief is apparently still undecided.
DAP is contesting in 26 of the 82 state seats and it has named candidates for all but eight seats, including Batu Kawah.
Chong told a press conference last week that the party was withholding the names for Batu Kawah, Padungan, Pending, Kota Sentosa, Stakan and Batu Kitang, which are all in Kuching, and Dudong and Bawang Assan in Sibu in a “strategic move.”
He said they will announce their remaining candidates after Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) unveils their line-up on Dec 4, which is just two days before nomination day.
The Kota Sentosa incumbent also told reporters that there was a possibility that he could switch to Batu Kawah, which set tongues wagging for the dream fight.
It is learnt the party already has candidates identified for the seats in Kuching but their final battlefields would only be determined when the party knows who they will be up against.
While Violet Yong is almost sure to defend Pending, talk is Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii is joining the line-up which include Chong’s special assistant Michael Kong and former Stampin MP Julian Tan.
Other than Pending and Kota Sentosa, Padungan was also represented by DAP until the incumbent Wong King Wei left the party last year because of grouses with the leadership.
There is speculation that either Chong or Yii could take on Dr Sim but it is likely that Yii would be given the task since Chong will have more to lose as he is not only the state DAP chief but also Pakatan Harapan Sarawak chairman.
If Chong contests in Batu Kawah, it will be the second time he is facing Dr Sim in an election.
Buoyed by his victory in the 2016 election in Batu Kawah, where he defeated DAP’s first term incumbent Christina Chiew, Dr Sim went on to face Chong one-on-one for Stampin in the 2018 general election.
The SUPP president lost by a huge margin of 14,221 votes after Chong garnered 33,060 votes. Batu Kawah, Kota Sentosa and Batu Kitang are the three state seats that make up the Stampin parliamentary constituency.
Dr Sim’s win over Chiew in a three-cornered fight was his second election outing after he was soundly defeated by Violet in Pending in the 2011 election.
Looking at the 2016 election results where Dr Sim garnered 6,414 to win with a majority of 2,085 in a three-cornered fight, some political pundits believe that the odds are spread quite evenly with Chong.
However, Dr Sim’s popularity among residents in Batu Kawah appears to be on the rise recently due to his frequent visits, the physical developments in the constituency, and his visibility as a key member of the State Disaster Management Committee.
And while Chong’s accomplishments for the seat, which had almost 17,000 voters in 2016, might not be immediately apparent, he has staunch supporters.
It is no secret that Chinese urban voters have a tendency to back the opposition in the polls in the belief that the Dewan Undangan Negeri needs a dissenting voice to ensure checks and balances.
This is especially true in Kuching, where development is taken to be a sure thing regardless of who represents it as it is the state capital. Indeed, Kuching has had a long line of opposition representation not just in the state legislature but also in Parliament.
However, Dr Sim’s win in 2016 proves that Chinese-majority urban seats are not a lost cause for SUPP and the prevailing bitterness over DAP’s unfulfilled pledges under the Pakatan Harapan government might also help to ensure Dr Sim’s victory.
But while a straight fight between the two party leaders is what everyone will be hoping for, it is very likely going to be a multi-cornered fight. Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), among others, is eyeing the seat.
We will find out on Monday who all the contenders are for Batu Kawah but regardless of who DAP picks for the seat, you can be sure that the party will be aiming to make a statement win or lose.
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