KUCHING, March 15 — Sarawak PKR may be able to win seats in the coming 12th state election if the selection of its candidates is done with due care and sensitivities to the multi-ethnic nature of Sarawak, opines Universiti Putra Malaysia political scientist Dr Jayum Jawan.
He said what is crucial for the party is the question of who will be leading the charge for PKR during the state election.
“PKR is currently facing a leadership crisis whereby some of its elected representatives have been leaving the party for various reasons.
“There are even words (going around) that more are contemplating to do the same,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted yesterday.
Jayum was asked to comment on whether PKR is a spent force in Sarawak and if the party still has any chance of winning seats in the looming state polls.
He said PKR was set up for a specific purpose, namely to seek justice for a man (PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) deemed wronged by the political system.
“That purpose kept the party and its supporters together for a number of decades, which is incredible.
“But when the person deemed wrong by the system was released and pardoned, then suddenly the purpose of the party has been accomplished. So the issue is, what next?” he added.
He said political theory regarding formation of a political party suggested that when a party was set up for a specific purpose and when that purpose had been accomplished, the issue that cropped up would be what would continue to hold the party together thereafter.
“Setting the new goals would not be easy because diverse elements had their respective goals and intentions that now would be difficult to harmonise.
“PKR was never a serious party for the people of Sarawak. This is deduced from how Sarawak PKR has managed with much uncertainty as to the state leadership of its regional chapter,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assoc Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi said PKR needed to find its internal strength factor as well as the weakness of its opponents to win in the coming state election.
The Universiti Malaya socio-political analyst said the party could win several seats in the event of a split in the opposition party such as vying for candidacy, internal sabotage and selection of constituency candidates.
“Utilising new faces from professionals, activists and grassroots leaders are also equally important in addition to submitting names of well-known and popular candidates in the constituency to attract voters,” he said.
He said the chances of PKR winning in the election also depended on cooperation with allies such as Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and DAP to avoid clashes in contested seats.
“PKR’s chances of winning in the state election will depend on the distribution of hot seats such as Beting Maro, Batu Lintang and several others.
“If the party gets these seats with the support of PSB and DAP, it will give them an advantage to avoid contesting in multi-cornered fights during the polls,” he said. — Borneo Post Online
