KUCHING: Sarawak’s upcoming state election should not be held concurrently with the 16th General Election (GE16) to avoid conflating state and national issues, says a political analyst.
Prof Dr James Chin, from the University of Tasmania in Australia, said such a move would go against the “Sarawak First” slogan of the ruling state coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“If you combine the state and general elections, people can mix state and federal issues together.
“This will dilute your political message of Sarawak First,” he said when contacted.
Sarawak’s state election is due by April 15 next year, while speculation is growing over a snap GE16 this year.
Chin said another factor in the timing of Sarawak’s polls is the proposed addition of 17 new state seats, which still await delineation by the Election Commission and subsequent parliamentary approval.
Last July, the Sarawak legislative assembly passed the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill 2025 to increase its membership from 82 to 99 elected representatives.
“I think they are getting mixed signals from Kuala Lumpur on the matter, so they are waiting to see if the 17 additional seats will be included in Parliament’s current session. But I think the GPS leadership has decided that even if they don’t get the additional seats, they will still proceed with the 82 seats,” he said.
Chin said GPS’ main target in the state polls will be to maintain, if not improve, its current status of holding 80 of the 82 state seats.
He also said GPS would contest the state and general elections on its own, without formally aligning with Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan or Perikatan Nasional.
“This is because GPS’ tagline is Sarawak First, which was used successfully in the previous election. Of course, this does not mean GPS will not play a major role in forming the next Federal Government and ruling as part of it,” he added.
Universiti Malaya’s Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said there is no rush for Sarawak to hold the next state election as GPS remains strong.
“Sarawak has its own political logic: GPS’ stability, its development agenda up to 2030, the issue of autonomy under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), and the need to maintain a local mandate that is not influenced by political waves in the peninsula.
“A snap GE may influence the national scenario, but Sarawak’s state election does not have to follow the same political beat,” he said.
In his estimation, the Sarawak polls are likely to take place at the end of this year, with GPS contesting every seat as a local force, not as a satellite of a national coalition.
He also said that GPS was likely to contest the next GE on its own and then negotiate from a position of strength at the federal level.
“In this way, GPS will be able to maintain its autonomy, avoid the peninsula’s political controversies, and maintain MA63, rural development and state rights as its election narrative.”
