S’wak Opposition parties in talks to prevent seat overlaps

KUCHING: Opposition parties in Sarawak have yet to finalise their seat distribution for the 15th General Election (GE15), with some still in talks.

Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) and Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) are now in negotiations to prevent any overlap.

This comes after the three parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Oct 1 to cooperate and avoid contesting against each other in the polls.

PSB president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said the party would likely contest eight to 10 of the state’s 31 parliamentary seats, but the final number depended on the outcome of the talks.

“We have not finalised which seats PSB will be contesting. The rest of the seats we will leave to PBK and PBDS.

“We’re still talking, but the three parties will avoid fighting each other,” he said when contacted yesterday.

GE15 will only involve parliamentary seats in Sarawak as the state election was held last December.

PBK president Voon Lee Shan also said the party had not yet decided how many seats it would contest.

“We still have to discuss the seat allocation with PSB and PBDS,” he said.

PBDS president Bobby William said the party planned to field candidates in four seats – Sibuti, Baram, Kapit and Julau – but may contest more depending on discussions with the other two parties.

“These four seats are confirmed at the moment, but we are still negotiating with PSB and PBK,” he said.

PBDS had previously signed an MOU with the Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) and Parti Sedar Rakyat Sarawak (Sedar) to form a proposed new coalition for the polls.

However, Bobby said the coalition failed to materialise after Sedar pulled out of the MOU.

“After that, we signed the MOU with PSB and PBK so that we don’t contest against each other,” he added.

Meanwhile, Wong said seat negotiations with Pakatan Harapan and DAP in particular remained at a stalemate as long as DAP insisted on contesting in all its incumbent seats.

DAP won six seats in Sarawak in the last general election, of which five – Stampin, Bandar Kuching, Sarikei, Sibu and Lanang – are urban seats.

“Our door is always open, but DAP has stated that its incumbent seats are non-negotiable.

“As a multiracial party, we should have one or two urban seats to contest.“If they are willing to give us one or two seats, not necessarily Sibu, at least our party will be represented in urban areas, otherwise there is no point talking,” Wong said.