Lawas is seat P222 and the Malaysian Parliament has a total of 222 seats. It occupies the last number on the parliamentary seat index. Hence, the “end of the line” tag.
As for the last frontier, the Lawas seat is situated on the northernmost part of Sarawak and borders Sabah.
Lawas town is only 200km from Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of Sabah.
Lawas is actually a small town and the capital of Lawas district in Limbang Division. This district covers 3,811.9 sq km and has a population of (according to the 2000 census) 35,300.
Lawas is also the starting point for the logging road to Ba Kelalan in the Sarawak Highlands.
From the 1970s up until the early 1990s, Lawas and nearby Limbang were notorious for being the sin capitals of Sarawak.
Prostitution, massage parlours, sleazy pubs and rundown motels were common in both towns.
Both towns have since undergone a complete transformation following major urban redevelopment over the last decade.
New residential areas, shops, shopping centres, agricultural projects and roads have been constructed with the investment of millions of ringgit.
Rundown motels have been refurbished into tourist hotels with proper facilities.
The Lawas seat, formerly known as Bukit Mas, was first contested in 2008.
Incumbent MP Henry Sum Agong has been the deputy domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism minister since June 2016.
He is also the first leader from the Lun Bawang to be appointed as a deputy minister in the federal cabinet.
Born in 1946 in Long Tuan, Trusan, 20km from Lawas, Henry began his career in the civil service as a clerk until he was appointed as Lawas district council secretary in the 1990s.
The PBB supreme council member joined the party in 1983.
He contested for the Bukit Mas parliamentary seat in the 10th general election and won with a massive majority. He retained the seat uncontested in the following general election.
Henry is a very popular MP. He was again returned with overwhelming majorities in Lawas when the new seat was first contested in 2008 and again in 2013.
Henry’s opponent, PKR’s Japar Suyut, lost his deposit when he garnered only 734 votes in a straight fight in 2008. Henry obtained 8,526 votes.
In GE13, DAP’s Bob Baru Langub fared slightly better, obtaining 3,898 votes. But he still lost by a wide margin of 6,030 votes. Henry secured 9,928 votes.
In the opposition ranks, it looks like PKR has lost interest in the seat after its miserable performance in 2008.
Come GE14, DAP is expected to contest Lawas again but a victory for PBB is a foregone conclusion.
The seat is a PBB fortress, as proven by Henry’s formidable electoral results in his four terms as its MP.
At 72, age is not on Henry’s side and it is still unknown whether he would be replaced with a new face.
Whoever the new BN/PBB candidate may be, he or she is assured of victory. But he had better be a Lun Bawang.