KUCHING: The fight for the Dudong state constituency in Sibu, which has no less than eight candidates vying for control, is among the most keenly-watched battles in the 12th Sarawak election.
Observers believe that a variety of factors, such as the game plan shift by Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in allowing the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) to contest the seat instead of Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), makes the fight a fascinating one for neutral observers.
Professor James Chin from the University of Tasmania's Asia Institute said besides the multi-cornered fight, the contest will be riveting as the PDP candidate is none other than party president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
The GPS leadership, in a last-minute decision, had agreed that PDP would contest the seat, despite Dudong being a traditional seat for SUPP.
Both SUPP and PDP are GPS component parties.
This is also the first time that Tiong, who is also Bintulu member of parliament, is contesting in a state election.
Chin said the main reason the Dudong seat has so many candidates is because its incumbent, Datuk Tiong Thai King, is not defending his seat, hence making it a free-for-all.
"This also means that Thai King, who is managing director of the Rimbunan Hijau (RH) Group, will not be pouring resources (and money) into the election to defend his seat.
"Secondly, the number two contender - Wong Ching Yong of SUPP was 'killed off' even before the contest began as he was not even nominated as the candidate after GPS decided to allocate the seat to PDP instead of SUPP.
"Therefore, it is no surprise that every Tom, Dick, and Harry, including King Sing, wants to contest there," he told the New Straits Times.
In 2016, Thai King won Dudong as a Barisan Nasional (BN) direct candidate by a majority of 2,146 votes. He garnered 9,700 votes against the closest candidate, DAP's Yap Hoi Liong, who polled 7,554 votes.
He later joined Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), a local opposition, before deciding against defending his seat in order to devote more time to the running of the group's business and gradually reduce his involvement in politics.
Chin said apart from Dudong, other interesting seats including Batu Kawah, Padungan, Krian and Ba'kelalan.
He said the contest for Batu Kawah will serve as a true test for DAP candidate Dr Kelvin Yii, who is faring against Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian of SUPP, who is defending the seat.
He noted that although Sim has the ground support, Yii, who is also the Kuching MP, is quite popular among young voters.
Chin said another key battle is in Kerian, where Datuk Ali Biju, breaking rank from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), is contesting as an independent.
"We are seeing a deputy federal minister willing to risk everything to defend his seat, even at the cost of contesting as an independent. We expect vigorous campaigning over there," he said.
Ali, who won the seat under a PKR ticket in the last state polls, had apparently defied a Bersatu agreement that the party would stay out of the state polls and assist GPS instead.
Ali is also the Deputy Energy and Natural Resources Minister in the federal cabinet.
Chin said Pujut is another 'free-for-all' as the seat was left vacant for nearly two years after its representative, DAP's Dr Ting Tiong Choon, was disqualified following his dual citizenship status.
The seat is seeing a five-cornered contest between GPS candidate Adam Yii, who is the Miri Mayor; DAP's Alan Ling, who is the former Piasau assemblyman; as well as three other candidates from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Aspirasi and Parti Bumi Kenyalang.
The two remaining seats to watch, said Chin, are Padungan and Ba'kelalan, where state DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen and Baru Bian of PSB are contesting, respectively.
"Both men were in the Pakatan Harapan federal cabinet and had failed to deliver their promises to the people after the 14th General Election (GE14). So, people are angry at them but it doesn't mean that they will lose, but they have to work and campaign to recover their support base," he said.
Chong was the former Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs while Baru was the former Works Minister for 22 months before the PH government collapsed in Feb last year.
Chong is not defending his Kota Sentosa seat but had instead moved to Padungan, squaring off against the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng who is a popular figure on the ground.
Meanwhile, Baru, who won Ba'kelalan under a PKR ticket when he was the party's Sarawak chairman – is now defending his seat under the PSB logo.