SARAWAK POLLS | Through the winding roads leading to Pusa and Beladin, one would be greeted by greenery and green flags with white circles, akin to driving through Kelantan on the East Coast of the peninsula.
These are the two main populated areas of the Beting Maro constituency, one of three state constituencies that make up the Batang Lupar parliamentary constituency.
Beting Maro is where PAS is fielding its sole candidate for the State Legislative Assembly election. It has fielded candidates here four times before and came very close to winning in 2011.
For the Sarawak chapter of PAS, their primary ammunition is welfare issues faced by the Beting Maro constituents, unlike their brethren in Peninsular Malaysia, who are better known for religious rhetoric based on its theocratic ideology.
Beting Maro voters who spoke to Malaysiakini often complained about their region being impoverished with limited internet access. Some complained of blackouts when it rains and very poorly maintained roads.
These are issues that the voters claimed the two-term incumbent Razaili Gapor (Gabungan Parti Sarawak - Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) could not resolve and PAS' candidate Mohammad Arifiriazul Paijo, 37, hopes to capitalise on it.
"Beting Maro is a constituency where PAS did not lose its deposit. In fact, we almost won in 2011, losing by just 391 votes and during the 2016 election, we did respectably and were placed second," Arifiriazul told Malaysiakini.
Arifiriazul is based in Miri. He said he will relocate to Beting Maro and set up a service centre if he is elected.
Since the BN flag will not appear on the ballot slip come voting day, Arifiriazul believes this would be to his benefit since the voters there are already accustomed to seeing the PAS logo.
"The symbol the old people here recognise is the moon and the scale. But the scale is no longer available here," he said.
Although GPS and PAS are both part of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's cabinet in Putrajaya, GPS leaders have at times been critical of PAS' brand of politics based on religion, which does not sit well with non-Muslims in Sarawak, who form the majority in the territory.
For PAS supporters in Beting Maro, it is not ideology that attracts them but a listening ear to their woes.
Razaili, 65, is a former Sarawak Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) director. He told Bernama that his three-phase development plans for Beting Maro were already underway.
"The first phase involves the provision of basic necessities such as road access, electricity and water; and phase two is about economic prosperity, like opening up agricultural areas to generate income.
"Phase three, meanwhile, involves introducing the latest technology in the field of agriculture. For example, creating a better drainage and irrigation system so that the land in Beting Maro can be cultivated as well as possible to generate income for the people," Razaili said.
PAS leaders are expected to appear in Beting Maro this week for a series of ceramah (political talks).
Arifiriazul believed that this time, the Beting Maro race is wide open. A PAS victory will have a domino effect, he said, and pave the way for his party to make further inroads into Sarawak.
Three other candidates vying for Beting Maro are Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh of PKR, Jacky Chiew Su Chee of Parti Bumi Kenyalang and Safiudin Matsah, as an independent.
Amanah on a second try
While PAS is fielding only one candidate in the state election, its splinter party Amanah is fielding eight.
This will only be the second time Amanah is fielding candidates in Sarawak. The 2016 campaign was a disaster. Out of 13 candidates, only two kept their deposits.
This time around, their best hope is in Kabong, where the party won 22.6 percent of the vote share in 2016. Kabong is one of three state assembly constituencies that make up the Saratok Parliamentary constituency.
Amanah's candidate for Kabong is Andri Zulkarnaen Hamdenm, 49, who is self-employed and is the Sarawak Amanah deputy chief. He is a local in Kampung Kabong.
Like PAS' Arifiriazul, Andri's main campaign platform is people's welfare. Andri adopts the Islamic concept of "rahmatan lil alamin" ("mercy for all").
Andri believes that during the 2016 election, Amanah was still in its infancy but now, it is ready to pose a serious challenge to one-term incumbent Mohd Chee Kadir (GPS-PBB).
"Previously, our activists didn't really know how to campaign because we were new. Now, our preparation is complete. People now know us and our logo," he said when met in Kampung Kabong.
For this election, Sarawak Amanah does not have a set of election pledges, leaving the candidates to design their own.
For Andri, his platform is to resolve basic infrastructure issues such as internet access and electricity supply disruptions. He is also lobbying for a fire station, dialysis centre and better roads so farmers can deliver their produce.
Andri claimed that whenever there is a fire, they have to depend on rescue workers from Saratok - almost an hour away - while dialysis patients have to either travel to Saratok or Sarikei for treatment.
However, voters who spoke to Malaysiakini were generally favourable for Mohd Chee, a former Miri deputy mayor. They cite changes to the Kabong vicinity as there are several development projects that have already taken place.
Andri claimed that as the incumbent mostly focuses his efforts on Malay constituents, he believed there was some disgruntlement among Chinese and Iban voters in the area - on whom he could count on.
Two other candidates in the Kabong race are Wan Mohamad Madehi B Wan Ali from Parti Sarawak Bersatu and Mohamad Asri B Kassim from Parti Bumi Kenyalang. - Mkini
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