KUCHING: An attempt by lawyer Rita Sariman Insol to become the first Dayak woman to be elected as a member of parliament (MP) did not materialise in the last general election (GE14) after she failed to win Selangau for Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).
She was defeated by Baru Bian, who won the seat with a slim majority of 486 votes on a PKR ticket, despite the seat being a PRS ‘safe seat’.
Political scientist Prof Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan of Universiti Putra Malaysia recently described the defeat as “the most unfortunate” as Rita should have won the seat easily if not for the community not giving enough support on account of her being a woman candidate.
However, Dr Lucy Sebli, said gender was not really the main issue as there are other major determining factors, including credibility, personality and support from the grassroots.
The political scientist from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) said Rita was defeated due to her campaign strategy which failed to gain traction among the local communities.
“She was also not the grassroots’ top choice,” she said, adding that she was in Selangau to observe the election process in 2018.
Dr Lucy said Dayak women have not been able to raise important issues that go beyond the party’s wall, thus, they do not appear to be able to attract the Dayak community.
She felt that some issues raised by Dayak women were still parochial, thus failed to attract other educated members to join in and be part of the party.
Apart from that, she said, it was their male counterpart’s perspective that the female members within the party were not seen as serious contenders and lacked credibility.
Although it is tough for Dayak women to break the traditional role of women in politics, it now boils down to campaign strategy and issues affecting that particular constituency – in order for a Dayak woman candidate to win an election.
PRS had on numerous occasions proposed their women chief Datuk Seri Doris Sophia as the party’s candidate in Sri Aman for the 15th General Election, thus, she is expected to be the second Dayak woman candidate field to contest in a parliamentary election.
“Yes, it will be Doris versus Masir in Sri Aman,” Dr Lucy said, referring to incumbent Datuk Masir Kujat, who won the seat on a PRS ticket but quit to join PSB. But, he subsequently left PSB and is currently an independent.
Although it may be premature to predict the outcome as there are always many factors affecting an election result, being a Dayak woman candidate would not be an issue.
“In Sri Aman, it will depend on Doris’ ability to attract Masir’s supporters to her side; it is like a contest between the current PRS members and their former members,” she explained.
Meanwhile, the main issues concerning voters in Sri Aman would be regarding economic issues, such as rising cost of living, inflation, lack of job opportunities, thus, forcing many people to migrate elsewhere to make a living.
Apart from that, she said the prices of commercial commodities are not stable – affecting the small holders there.
Doris has been a Senator for two terms as well as being the Deputy President of the Senate. She is also presently political secretary to the Premier.
In the 2018 general election, Masir defeated Norina Umoi Utot of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Cobbold John Lusoi of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru to win by a majority of 5,820 votes.
