KUCHING, Dec 16 — The road to retaining Batu Kawah could get a little tricky for Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian with DAP rising star Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen in the picture, but the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party president has just enough in his locker to secure a second term, an expert said.

It has been dubbed the “Battle of the Doctors”, and Universiti Putra Malaysia political analyst Prof Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan said the fact that both were influential leaders among the Chinese community makes the contest even more interesting.

“As in any contest, there is only going to be one winner, but as the incumbent and a former state cabinet minister, Dr Sim seems to have the edge,” he told Bernama today.

Besides Dr Yii, who is also Bandar Kuching MP, Dr Sim will be up against Fong Pau Teck of Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak (Aspirasi) and Chai Kueh Khun from Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK).

Jayum, while acknowledging SUPP’s advantage in the contest, said internal issues could pose a challenge in the party’s campaign this time around, especially after ‘losing’ two of its traditional seats, Mambong and Dudong to its GPS coalition partners.

GPS will be represented in Dudong by Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing while Mambong will be contested by Datuk Dr Jerip Susil of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).

“Besides this, Dr Sim is also facing some issues in Padungan when SUPP’s Kuching branch dissolved its election machinery after not being happy with the candidate selected to contest there,” he said.

In the 11th state election, Batu Kawah was won by Dr Sim on a Barisan Nasional ticket with a 2,085-vote majority, defeating DAP’s Christina Chiew Wang See and Independent candidate Liu Thian Leong.

A total of 20,681 voters will be eligible to vote in Batu Kawah on Saturday. — Bernama