Incumbents Tiong King Sing (Bintulu), Anthony Nogeh (Mas Gading) and Anyi Ngau (Baram) will be retained by BN to defend their seats, a senior party insider said.
The other seat, Saratok, which was won by William Mawan in the 2013 general election on a Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) ticket, will see a new face.
Mawan, who left SPDP (now renamed PDP) in 2014 following a bitter leadership feud, has been a Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) member since 2016 and will not be fielded this time around.
Mawan, a former senior state minister, had earlier expressed his interest to defend the seat for BN but is now resigned to the reality that he would not be fielded.
PBB president Abang Johari Openg is determined not to field existing state assemblymen, especially from his party, as MPs in the coming election.
Mawan is the long-serving assemblyman for Pakan.
PDP will nominate a fresh face to defend this Dayak-majority seat.
Saratok has 28,175 voters — 50% are Dayak, 45% Malays and 5% Chinese.
The party insider said the candidate is likely to be a toss between entrepreneur Subeng Mula and general practitioner Dr James Chella.
But Subeng, being a local in the constituency, is likely to get the nod.
The party insider said that Subeng has the support of party president Tiong King Sing and Abang Johari also knows Subeng quite well.
“He is a likeable chap and gets along very well with the people in his area. Being a local, he has the added advantage.
“Saratok is a BN stronghold as long as Malay voters of the state seats of Kabong and Kalaka vote for the ruling coalition,” said the insider.
Meanwhile, Tiong, the PDP boss, is expected to sail through easily in Bintulu.
The four-term MP defeated DAP’s John Brian Anthony in 2013. He polled 26,458 votes against John’s 19,025 votes, winning with a 7,433-vote majority.
Nogeh, the PDP secretary general, made his election debut in GE13. He won Mas Gading by a 2,156-vote majority in a four-cornered fight against former three-term BN MP Dr Tiki Lafe, who stood as an independent, DAP’s Mordi Bimol and State Reform Party’s (STAR) Patrick Anek Uren.
Observers see PDP having little trouble retaining Bintulu, Mas Gading and Saratok.
It might, however, face a tough fight in Baram.
The opposition is said to have shortlisted three candidates, one of whom is said to be PKR’s Roland Engan.
Anyi contested Baram as a newcomer in GE13. He narrowly defeated Roland by a razor-thin majority of 194 votes.
The opposition is said to be upbeat about its chances in Baram and is working on a straight fight with the BN.
In GE13, its victory was foiled because an independent candidate took more than 300 votes away from the opposition.