GPS can still win in next GE, says political analyst

Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi

KUCHING (July 19): Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will still be able to maintain its victory in the next general election, said political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi.

The research fellow at Universiti Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Elections said one of the reasons was the Opposition is still seen as disunited.

He said as there is no unity among them, the Opposition camp might see clashes for seats among themselves, which is a major factor that may contribute to GPS’ success.

Awang predicted that GPS would be able to win back parliamentary seats such as Lubok Antu, Selangau, Puncak Borneo, and Mas Gading, which it lost to the Opposition in 2018.

“Even Julau is also expected to be won by GPS. This is because before that, in the last general election, the Opposition got the victory because of the split and sabotage among the Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters.

“Now, there is strong unity among the GPS component parties and members; that is why we see there is a tendency for the MPs from the Opposition camp to explicitly and implicitly want to join any of the GPS component parties to maintain their power,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Awang Azman said another reason for the MPs outside GPS to join the state-based coalition is because the incumbents themselves are not confident the party that they are in now can win in the next GE.

In GE14, Pakatan Harapan (PH) wrested 10 of the 31 parliamentary seats in the state and went on to form the federal government.

That was the highest number of parliamentary seats an Opposition bloc had ever won in Sarawak, an outcome that led to the departure of the ruling Sarawak parties from BN.

The former BN parties – Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) – later formed the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition.

GPS passed its biggest test last December when the state election was held, the first major electoral outing for the coalition.

GPS comfortably swept 76 of the 82 seats up for grabs, topping the 73 seats it won in the 2016 election when it was still in BN.

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