Sedar president Othman Abdillah said none of the 23 candidates replied to his phone calls and WhatsApp messages on nomination day (Dec 6), according to a report in The Star.

“I am not just frustrated and disappointed, I am sad. Those 23 people did not turn up and they did not inform us that they will not be sending in their nomination papers.

“We could have looked for other potential candidates had they informed the party that they did not want to contest,” Othman was quoted as saying by the daily.

He said he suspected that “someone” might be responsible for the no-show of these candidates, but declined to elaborate further.

“This is only my suspicion. I have yet to find proof of this,” he said.

The five seats that Sedar is competing in are Opar, Muara Tuang, Lingga, Saribas and Samariang, where Othman himself is a candidate.

He said the party is eyeing a win in three or four seats.

Sarawak goes to the polls on Dec 18, with early voting taking place on Dec 14.