“If DAP can emerge victorious in Bawang Assan on May 7, it will be powerful evidence that the BN-led Sarawak Government can fall in 2021.”
The battle for Bawang Assan in the 11th Sarawak state election was very significant, added Lim who has been suspended from Parliament as Gelang Patah MP. “It was not one of the 12 state seats won by the DAP in the 2011 Sarawak election five years ago.”
If Penang and Selangor can continue to be governed by Pakatan Harapan state governments, he continued, there’s no reason why the informal national alliance cannot seize the reins of power in Sarawak come 2021. “The real answer lies in the outcome of the May 7 Polling Day.”
The DAP veteran recalled that his party had zero results in the 1979, 1983, 1987 and 1991 state elections.
“We succeeded in getting the confidence of Sarawak voters since the 1982 Parliamentary elections when we won both the Sibu and Kuching parliamentary seats.”
In the 5th state election, DAP succeeded in achieving a breakthrough with “three Wongs” in the Sarawak Assembly i.e. Wong Ho Leng (Bukit Assek), Wong Sing Nan (Pelawan) and Wong Sing Ai (Kidurong).
In the 2001 state election, DAP Sarawak was reduced to only one state assemblyman, Chiew Chin Sin in Kidurong.
In the 9th state election in 2006 — DAP’s seventh participation in Sarawak at the state level – the party created a “second historic breakthrough” by winning six seats.
In the 10th state election in 2011, DAP’s representation in the Sarawak Assembly doubled to 12. “This saw Miri joining Sibu, Kuching, Sarikei, Bintangor and Bintulu to demand for political change and meaningful development,” recalled Lim.