Besides its two main contenders, DAP incumbent Oscar Ling and BN’s Andrew Wong, Peace Party’s Jamie Tiew and the State Reform Party’s (STAR) Tiong Ing Tung are also in the fray.

Most locals expect the fight to be between BN and DAP, with the others to be also-rans.

The reason the Sibu seat is attractive to the various opposition parties is because it is now considered an opposition stronghold, and other parties are keen to try their luck. Their candidates are self-sponsored.

STAR is a 21-year-old party which made its electoral debut in 1996. Although the party was officially registered in 1997, STAR leaders led by its president, the late Dr Patau Rubis, first contested as a group of independents in the 1996 state election. None of its candidates won.

But the former leaders of STAR did not fare as miserably as the current line-up who continuously lost their deposits in all their electoral outings.

Tiong also lost his deposit in the 2016 state election, garnering only 800-plus votes in the Nangka state seat.

Lawyer Priscilla Lau, now contesting in Lanang on a Peace Party ticket, was also a casualty in the Pehlawan state seat in 2016 when she was a STAR candidate.

For businesswoman Tiew in Sibu, this will be her electoral debut on a Peace Party ticket.

Commenting on the entry of these parties, a Sibu resident, William Wong, said the fight for the Sibu seat was between the two main contenders, DAP and BN represented by SUPP.

“The others do not have a ghost of a chance. The STAR and Peace Party candidates have a mountain to climb. At best, they will get a few hundred votes,” he added.

Another Sibu local, Simon Ngo, described the entry of local-based parties as “good for the democratic process”.

“They might not win this round but if their leaders persevere, who knows what will happen in the years to come. After all, this is politics, anything can happen,” he said.

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