KUCHING: In view of the good performance by Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the last 12th state election, there is no need for it to make any radical change in its strategy for the 15th general election (GE15).
Political analyst Prof Datuk Mohd Fadzil Abdul Rahman said that as can be seen in the last 12th state election, the party featured both old and new faces,
“For GPS, I’m very positive about it pertaining to the upcoming election. They are also considering bringing in more new blood or new faces but with a good combination of old and new blood.
“They are quite well-received at the moment so they don’t really have to make any radical change”, he told New Sarawak Tribune yesterday.
He was asked for opinions on whether GPS will be placing more younger faces for the GE15 following Democratic Action Party (DAP) Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii’s recent disclosure that DAP would be placing more emphasis on young candidates for GE15.
He said the ability of Sarawak to fight for its rights under Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) seems to be a strong arsenal for GPS to show to the public that they are doing something for Sarawakians.
“It is very challenging for DAP in Sarawak now because they don’t have anything specific to counter GPS.
“They need to find some strength (but) not really to find mistakes or weaknesses but to come up with some kind of strategy to convince the people that they are able to do better than GPS,” Mohd Fadzil said.
He added that DAP cannot be dependent on young people only as they need to be sufficiently equipped with knowledge and know what are the new things that they can introduce that can benefit the people.
“They cannot just simply hope they can win the heart of the people just for being young; they need to show what sort of strategy that they can bring forward in order to enhance the wellbeing of the public.
“These are the things people want to see, among the newcomers. They cannot afford to say we must replace the old faces, but they themselves don’t know what to do”, he said.
It is good to have young faces but what is more important is how and what can they bring to the society rather than sell the issues of replacing the old faces, he pointed out.
“But if the old faces can do better than the young faces why do they have to be replaced?” he asked.
When asked what were his predictions of where DAP is currently heading to with the decision in putting young candidates, Fadzil mentioned, “It is not going to be an immediate result; it looks like they still have to do a lot of things other than replace old faces. It is not going to be an immediate result, that’s for sure.
“Therefore, in the coming election, I predict they might not be able to prove anything yet because the election is just around the corner and they are not quite in time to prepare sufficiently to face GPS,” he said.
He also stated, with the kind of leadership GPS has under Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, the party is heading in the right direction. He however cautioned that if there seems to be any lacking, DAP would be on the look-out.
Meanwhile, political analyst Dr Ammar Redza said that DAP hoped by putting young candidate, it is a strategic move and possibly will attract young voters.
‘’However, I still question where DAP will put these young candidates. Are these secured seats available for them or do they expect these seats not to be won?”
“If it is just for the sake of naming a candidate and making sure their senior candidates remain secure at their seats, then it won’t make any difference fielding a much younger blood,” he said.
“If the party is serious about bringing new and fresh faces, they need to place young candidates at safe seats and have their older senior candidates contest at hot seats”, he said.
“As for GPS, during the last state election, they have already placed young candidates to stand for election. I think that momentum will continue and they would also need to put the younger candidates at their safe seats.
“This goes to all the component parties in GPS. We don’t only want one party that is insisting on having a young candidate, while the other parties remain with their old faces”, said Dr Ammar.
