James Chin and Jayum Jawan both said PRS’s main vulnerability lies in a leadership vacuum following the death of James Jemut Masing, the party’s formidable founder and longtime leader, in October 2021.
They say his successor, outgoing president Joseph Salang Gandum, has failed to strengthen the party’s hold on the Dayak community and is widely regarded as less influential, preferring to remain behind the scenes and out of the limelight.
Chin, of the University of Tasmania, said that with elections scheduled soon, no contender has emerged to match Masing’s political pedigree, forged during the “fiery” Dayak politics of the 1980s.
He named the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) — PRS’s ally in Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) — as its primary external threat.
He described PDP president and federal minister Tiong King Sing as moving “very aggressively” in the party’s bid to supplant PRS as the dominant voice among the Dayaks.
“The big problem with PRS is they’ve never been able to unite all the leading Dayak groups in Sarawak.”
Chin said the Dayaks are split among three parties, with PRS being squeezed between PDP and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).
“And it’s very clear that PDP is trying to overtake PRS.
“PRS brands itself as the last home of Dayak or Iban nationalists. The problem is that this branding isn’t working as well as it did during Masing’s time,” he told FMT.
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) fellow Jayum said Salang’s elevation to party president has done little to revive PRS, having lost his parliamentary contest in the 2022 general election.
For that reason, Salang’s endorsement of state minister John Sikie Tayai for the PRS presidency carries little weight, he said.
Sikie the favourite
Despite that, both Jayum and Chin expect Sikie to win the party presidency without much challenge.
Chin said the nine-term Kakus assemblyman’s key advantages are his state Cabinet post and the extensive groundwork he has done since being elected in 1991.
In a Dayak-centric party, a state Cabinet post is more influential than a federal one as it provides direct access to resources and the premier, he added.
Jayum named federal minister Aaron Ago Dagang as the only other serious contender for the PRS presidency, though Aaron has yet to indicate whether he will throw his hat into the ring.
He said other hopefuls, like two-term Pelagus assemblyman Wilson Nyabong Ijang, were struggling to secure the required nominations, while women’s wing chief Doris Sophia Brodie faces an uphill battle as PRS delegates “aren’t ready to have a woman lead the party”.
Jayum said PRS must set a new direction and vision to regain relevance in Sarawak.
He called for the party to hold public debates among its leadership contenders to allow delegates to identify the ideal candidate to take the party forward.
Asked if Sikie was capable of countering PDP’s expansion, Chin was unsure.
“Who knows? He is the most senior leader in PRS now. If he becomes president, it will be his job to expand PRS’s influence and fight PDP,” Chin said.
PRS currently holds 11 seats in the Sarawak legislative assembly and five in the Dewan Rakyat, but PDP has closed the gap with five state seats and two federal seats.