SHAH ALAM: A Sarawak PKR leader has admitted that the upcoming Sarawak state election will be an uphill battle for the opposition.
Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian said among others, Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s “massive” popularity was a big problem for PKR and its allies.
“The chief minister is very popular in his state. The reports we received say that 75 per cent of Sarawakians support him. So, that is a big problem for us,” Baru said in his closing speech during PKR’s 11th national congress here today.
Baru, however, said he believed the opposition would be able to overcome this challenge by pointing out Adenan’s “weak points”.
“For example, there are many issues he can't resolve. These include matters relating to education, health, and the judiciary.
“There are also other areas where the chief minister is powerless. Much of them are under the purview of the Federal government," he said.
On the dispute between PKR and DAP over the seat allocation for the Sarawak state election, Baru said discussions between the two parties broke down after DAP accused PKR of not having a stand on the ‘hudud’ issue.
“That was a big problem for us. But now that there is Pakatan Harapan, we have already written to DAP and Amanah to ask if we can return to the discussion table.
“So far, there is good development and Sarawak PKR is confident that the contests in Sarawak would be straight fights between the opposition parties and Barisan Nasional,” Baru said.
This follows concerns that the prospect of opposition parties contesting against each other and BN in Sarawak would cause their chances of winning to slide, especially given the popularity of its chief minister.
Eighty-two seats are up for grabs in Sarawak, and DAP and PKR have overlapping claims, especially in smaller towns and Dayak-majority areas where both parties have established a presence.
DAP’s demand to field candidates in 30 seats in Sarawak has raised fears among the people that the party intends to stand in areas contested by PKR in the 2011 Sarawak state election.
On Saturday, PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar announced that new PKR member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah had been tasked to resolve the dispute.
Reporting by Siti Nursuraya Ali, Dawn Chan, and Adrian Lai.