This is as Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) is determined to recapture three urban seats, namely Bandar Sibu, Sarikei and Miri, from the opposition in the 14th general election (GE14).
Two weeks ago, the chief minister gathered SUPP president Dr Sim Kui Hian and UPP president Wong Soon Koh to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in which the two rival parties, both aligned to BN, pledged to cooperate with each other in the coming polls.
The MoU was also necessary as Abang Johari had already declared that Sarawak BN would not be fielding direct BN candidates in GE14. All its 31 candidates must be chosen from among its four component parties in the state.
SUPP is a long-time BN component in Sarawak while UPP is not. Such being the case, UPP candidates, if chosen, will have to contest under the SUPP/BN quota.
State BN secretary-general Dr Stephen Rundi recently expressed confidence that with SUPP/UPP fighting as one team, the three urban seats of Bandar Sibu, Sarikei and Miri could be recaptured.
Rundi also said the state BN machinery would be deployed in full strength in the three opposition-held constituencies.
Currently, DAP holds five parliamentary seats – Bandar Kuching, Stampin, Bandar Sibu, Lanang and Sarikei – while PKR’s sole seat is Miri.
In GE13, the opposition managed only narrow victories in Bandar Sibu, Sarikei and Miri. This is the main reason for the state BN’s confidence in wresting the seats this time around.
Of the three seats eyed by Sarawak BN, Sarikei is likely the most vulnerable for the opposition.
The seat is held by DAP’s Wong Ling Biu who defeated SUPP’s Ding Kuong Hiing in GE13 with a slim majority of 505 votes.
In 2008, Ding only managed to scrape through with a razor-thin majority of 51 votes.
Bandar Sibu, Sarikei and Miri are expected to be “touch and go” cases in GE14, with the margin of victory not likely to exceed 1,000 votes.
According to a BN source, SUPP candidates are likely to be selected to contest the three seats while UPP could field its man in Lanang, but on a SUPP/BN ticket.
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