Jayum Jawan of Universiti Putra Malaysia told FMT he believed PKR had lost its shine, and Sarawak DAP was disadvantaged by its leader’s lack of political skills.
He said PKR was no longer seen as a dynamic party principally because its president, Anwar Ibrahim, was no longer the charismatic figure he used to be.
As for Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s political skills, Jawan said these were inferior to the skills seen in the late Sim Kwang Yang, who was among the pioneers who built up the party in the late 1970s.
“Besides, DAP failed to deliver on its election promises when it was given the chance to rule both in Sarawak and in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
On Saturday, Sarawak PH announced that it had agreed on seat allocations for the coming election, with PKR contesting for 47 seats, DAP 26 and Amanah nine.
Chong said Sarawak PH had come to an agreement on seat allocations much earlier than it did for the previous election, adding that this could increase the coalition’s chances of winning.
Jayum said Amanah had no place in the Malay and Melanau hearts.
Another analyst, James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute, said people should not be too excited over the seat allocation announcement as it was likely there would be changes at the eleventh hour.
“It was just an opening statement and there should be a series of negotiations until nomination day,” he said.
“There is nothing new about the seat distribution. We continue to see DAP being given Chinese seats, and PKR the Dayak and Malay seats. Amanah has been given only nine seats as it doesn’t have any support in Sarawak. It will be lucky if its candidates don’t lose their deposits.”
In the last state polls in 2016, DAP and PKR contested against each other in the constituencies of Mulu, Mambong, Murum, Simanggang, Ngemah and Bukit Kitang.
All these seats were eventually won by the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak, which consists of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, Parti Rakyat Sarawak, Parti Demokratik Progresif and Sarawak United People’s Party.