PSB might ship new sec-gen Baru Bian to Lawas

 

Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) might field its newly elected secretary-general Baru Bian in Lawas, said party president Wong Soon Koh.

However, the decision lies with Baru who must choose whether to defend his current Selangau seat.

“If Baru decides to defend his Selangau seat, he will come back to Selangau.

“If he does not want to defend Selangau, he will be in Lawas, because it is made up of two state constituencies, namely Ba’Kelalan and Bukit Sari," Wong told reporters in Sibu, according to Borneo Post.

Baru wrested the Selangau seat from the now-defunct Sarawak BN in 2018. This parliamentary constituency is far from Baru’s home base in Ba’Kelalan.

In 2021, Baru, who was the works minister during the Pakatan Harapan federal administration, retained the Ba’Kelalan seat with a majority of 680 out of 8,503 votes cast.

Parti Sarawak Bersatu president Wong Soon Koh

However, it will be an uphill challenge for Baru to win in Lawas because within it is the Bukit Sari state seat - the stronghold of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu’s Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

Sarawak deputy premier Awang Tengah is a five-time Bukit Sari assemblyperson and has been widely tipped to succeed Abang Johari Abang Openg as Sarawak premier.

Meanwhile, Wong said PSB has identified three parliamentary candidates so far - Johnical Rayong (Lubok Antu), Wilson Entabang (Sri Aman), and Lawrence Lai (Miri).

All three seats are currently held by non-Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) politicians.

Johnical is a veteran politician and has been the Engkilili state assemblyperson since 2006. Wilson came in a very close second during the 2021 state election for Simanggang. Lai was the mayor of Miri from 2010 to 2016.

Previously, PSB said it would field 10 “or less” candidates for the next parliamentary elections. There are 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak. - Mkini