Sarawak Polls: GPS wrests Krian seat as Friday wins by 932-vote majority

SARATOK: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) has won the closely-watched contest in Krian, wresting the seat it last won on a Barisan Nasional ticket in 2011.

Friday Belik won the seat with a 932-vote majority in the four-cornered fight that was also contested by Datuk Ali Biju, the Sarawak Bersatu vice-chairman, who three days after filing his nomination as an Independent candidate, said he was withdrawing from the contest to back Friday.

Friday garnered 3,885 votes to secure victory over Musa Dinggat of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), who obtained 2,953 votes, Ali (1,777 votes) and Danny Kuan from Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) who only managed 282 votes.

Ali, who is Saratok MP and Deputy Energy and Natural Resources Minister, had pulled a shocker on nomination day when he filed his papers to contest Krian as an Independent, a move described as going against Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s stand for the party not to take part in the Sarawak election and instead back all GPS candidates.

Ali, the two-term incumbent for the seat, later changed his mind and stated his withdrawal so as to preserve the consensus and understanding between GPS and Perikatan Nasional.

The Sarawak Bersatu vice-chairman was then asked to explain the actual situation to the voters so that they would vote for Friday besides also campaigning for the GPS candidate. - Bernama