PKR lost in all the 28 seats it contested, with the outing a poor one for Pakatan Harapan in general after DAP only won two of the 24 seats it contested while Amanah lost in all eight seats.

In a statement today, Sarawak PKR said the GPS government was intent on pushing through a “sham election” to avoid the votes of the youths, who will be eligible to vote once Undi18 comes into force on Jan 1.

“As a result, about 150,000 young voters missed the opportunity to vote in this election,” it said.

PKR also said the Election Commission failed to implement postal votes for the nearly 250,000 Sarawakians living in Peninsular Malaysia.

Many of them failed to return to Sarawak to vote due to the “exorbitant” price of air tickets, with the government also not implementing a price cap to facilitate their journey home.

Stating that GPS had not ensured stable internet access in rural Sarawak, Sarawak PKR said this made virtual campaigning effectively impossible. The opposition did not have equal access to mainstream media compared to GPS candidates.

Sarawak PKR also claimed the Covid-19 pandemic and the decision to hold the election on a Saturday led to poor voter turnout.

It claimed that conducting the polls on a Sunday would have given Sarawakians, who face lengthy trips back to their constituencies, enough time to cast their votes.

Claiming it has seen “a number of instances” where money politics was at play in key constituencies, Sarawak PKR said it was waiting for the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Election Commission to take action on the reports lodged with them.

“Electoral reform is needed urgently to ensure free and fair elections and an end to political hegemony and money politics in Sarawak.”

GPS won 76 of the 82 seats in a landslide victory for the coalition, with Parti Sarawak Bersatu claiming four seats and DAP two.