THE country witnessed the most intense fight between political parties in the 15th general election (GE15), which ended with a hung parliament as no one had a simple majority to form the new federal government.
For the past four years, Malaysians have had the experience of being governed by three governments from different coalitions and now they are anxiously waiting to find out who will hold the position of Prime Minister and govern Malaysia from now.
Given the hung parliament, and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) having 22 seats in Sarawak, the party will be the main focus for coalition parties in Peninsular Malaysia in forming a new government.
GPS is expected to play a key role in deciding the new government, and at the same time, get what it wants to bring Sarawak to a more advanced level.
A reporter from our sister newspaper Suara Sarawak, Siti Nurain Ratani met with Political Analyst Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Unimas, Prof Dr Neilson Ilan Mersat regarding the results of GE15 and the current situation.
Now that GE15 has concluded, can you give some comments on the political journey of this year’s general election?
This was something expected even before nomination day. Many expected that we would be in the situation we are in now.
It is because, in this election, there are several strong coalitions, namely Pakatan Harapan (PH), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN). These people have supporters, experience and many strong veterans in politics.
As we said before, we expect that there will be no absolute victory in GE15 this time and no one will succeed in securing 112 seats after the votes are counted.
This situation is a reality in Malaysian politics because of the division in terms of the coalition.
In the previous general election, we predicted that it would be a straightforward win for a strong political party and then it will form a government with other parties, but not this time.
Today, the competition got more intense between the coalition parties, especially in the peninsula but not in Sarawak, because here, it was straightforward without such challenges.
With the current hung parliament situation and GPS winning 22 seats, what is your comment on Sarawak’s demands?
As a kingmaker, Sarawak should continue the struggle in demanding more rights enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
MA63 is a sacred document which has a deep message – if there is no MA63, there is no Malaysia. Therefore no one should change the basic agreement that led to the formation of Malaysia.
This is because, under the agreement, Sabah and Sarawak were allies of the former Federation of Malaya, but this position has been eroded.
Therefore, I call on the Sarawak government to continue the MA63 effort even though for now we have not received an answer as to which coalition GPS will work with to form the government.
Based on the election results, where no party has enough seats to form a government, what is the best coalition for GPS to work with?
PKR Deputy President Rafizi Ramli, Umno Secretary General, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan and PN Chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, have expressed their willingness to work with any coalition that is aligned with them.
For GPS, I think the best combination is a partner who can realise Sarawak’s struggle to demand MA63 rights. It needs to be realised, not just some empty promises.
In your view, to what extent is Sarawak’s struggle now in demanding MA63 rights?
So far, Sarawak has shown encouraging progress and that is something positive.
GPS has also shown its greatness when the constitutional amendment based on MA63 to recognise Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners in the federation was approved, thus increasing the confidence of the local people here.
Therefore, GPS should continue the struggle to reclaim its rights in MA63 because Sarawakians have given the mandate to the coalition to continue to get back what is enshrined in the agreement.
That needs to be prioritised because MA63 is a rather long-delayed case.
As Sarawak is the main decider in forming a new government, will Sarawak demand the position of Deputy Prime Minister?
Looking at the demands of MA63, the committee revealed that this agreement has been delayed for 50 to 60 years. That’s why I say that the MA63 struggle is the main agenda of GPS.
However, if there is a demand for a position, there is no wrong with that because GPS has the power to make a demand.
They are not just talking nonsense … they have 22 seats now, which is an increase from the last general election in 2018.
If GPS makes a claim or is offered the highest position, there is nothing wrong with it. Still, what we need to remember is that whatever position is given, the fight for MA63 must continue.
Commenting on the success of winning the 22 seats, what is the factor behind GPS’ victory in Sarawak?
GPS is made up of four component parties, namely Parti Pesaka Bersatu Bumiputera (PBB), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Parti Demokratik Progresif (PDP).
This is the first time that GPS contested as a local party. Previously GPS was a component of BN and contested under that ticket. This time, they contested as GPS,
Sarawak also just held its 12th state election last year and used the GPS symbol for the first time. Some were worried about how far its brand will sell in rural areas.
It turns out that this brand has been accepted by the community in Sarawak.
GPS’ victory in the state election was because GPS had successfully gained a foothold in the state and had begun to be compatible with the people, and what is happening now is a reflection of that belief.
In this GE15, GPS also featured many new faces and half of them showed the ability to win the hearts of the people. What do you think about their strategy this time?
By bringing in some new faces and new blood this time, the strategy was worth it as it has brought victories for GPS.
This is a good thing because every political organisation has to think ahead about who will be the next in line to replace its veterans for the continuity of the party.
Therefore, I hope the MA63 agenda will be fought for and continued by GPS because the mandate has been given to GPS to make demands for what has been delayed and what has been denied or given less to the people in Sarawak.
For that reason, voters should look from the point of view of votes and the number of seats available, so that we can continue to restore rights through MA63 and the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC).
