Sabah wipeout will unsettle Sarawak DAP, says analyst

With state polls due by April 2027, Jayum Jawan says Sarawak DAP will be anxious about meeting the same fate as its Sabah counterpart.

Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen leads the opposition in the current state assembly.

PETALING JAYA:

 DAP’s Sarawak chapter will have cause for concern after the party’s wipeout in the recently concluded Sabah polls, with Sarawak’s own state election drawing near, says a political analyst.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Jayum Jawan said that despite its longstanding role as the dominant opposition force in Sarawak, the party is seen as having “underperformed” in advancing the Chinese community’s interests.

Jayum Jawan.

For example, he said DAP cannot claim credit for Sarawak’s recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).

“The UEC is recognised in Sarawak, and soon will be in Sabah, but not because of (DAP),” he said.

Instead, Jayum attributed Sarawak’s recognition of the Chinese vernacular school qualification to Premier Abang Johari Openg. He also said Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor had previously promised to do the same for his state if returned to power.

Jayum added that DAP’s failure to secure national recognition of the examination, taken by students of independent Chinese secondary schools, further undermines the party’s standing.

“In Sarawak, DAP is seen as a lame duck party. It is part of the federal government but the participation of its leaders in the (state) government has been clipped by Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS),” he told FMT.

Jayum further noted that none of DAP’s five ministerial posts in the federal Cabinet are held by leaders from Sabah or Sarawak.

He also said Sarawak’s Chinese community appears largely content with the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), the Chinese-based component of the ruling state coalition.

“SUPP is doing well under Dr Sim Kui Hian. The deputy premier is respected by (GPS lynchpin) Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu,” he said, adding that support received from Malay-Melanaus allows Sim to articulate Chinese interests within the coalition and government.

“The people’s patience has its limits. The same sentiment that swept DAP to power will be the wave that will drown the party.”

DAP saw all eight of its candidates defeated in the Sabah state election, losing six former stronghold seats and ending up without representation in the state assembly.

Sarawak DAP’s popularity also appears to be on the decline, having gone from 12 state seats in 2011 to just two a decade later.

In the 2021 Sarawak polls, DAP lost its status as the largest opposition party in the state assembly to Wong Soon Koh’s Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), which took four.

PSB was later dissolved and absorbed into the Progressive Democratic Party, a component of the ruling GPS coalition, allowing Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen to reassume the role of state opposition leader.

‘DAP has more to gain at next state polls’

James Chin of the University of Tasmania nonetheless believes Sarawak DAP has more to gain than lose in the coming state polls, especially with the legislative assembly set to add more seats, particularly in urban areas.

James Chin.

This would provide the party with more winnable seats, he said.

Chin added that it was still too early to determine whether the Sarawakian Chinese community shares the same sentiments as its Sabahan counterpart, but noted that “the signs are there.”

With the Sarawak polls due only by April 2027, Chin said DAP has ample time to fulfil the Chinese community’s political expectations. “This kind of thing can be turned around very fast,” he added.

However, Chin said Sarawak DAP’s leaders will struggle to answer the same question that has stumped its Sabah counterpart: why do you want to represent a West Malaysian party?

“The Chinese are telling them: ‘Yes, you want to fight for us, that’s fine. But set up your own local party instead.’” - FMT