KUCHING: Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) invited key grassroots leaders of its campaign apparatus here for a refresher on the party’s election standard operating procedures (SOP) and to iron out potential problems, particularly logistics.
The linchpin of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition is ratcheting up its polls preparations as it sets its sights on achieving another 100% win rate by retaining all 47 seats it won in the 2021 election.
The pre-polls briefing, held at party headquarters here on Thursday (Oct 29), was chaired by PBB deputy secretary-general Datuk Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman who is also the incumbent in Tupong, an urban Malay-majority seat in Kuching.
The grassroots workers came from as far as Limbang, Lawas and the Baram area in Sarawak's interior.
Speaking to reporters later, Fazzrudin said the briefing touched mainly on administrative matters and the relationship between the secretariat and operations rooms, especially concerning campaign materials.
"(It was) more on the PBB secretariat managing the relationship and communications between headquarters and the operations rooms.
"It (touched on) coordination to ensure that when the time comes, from nomination day until polling day, our machinery is ready, all instructions and SOPs are clear," he said.
Fazzrudin also said that as of today, materials essential for nomination day have yet to be shipped out from PBB headquarters to the various party branches.
The Sarawak legislature was dissolved on Monday (Oct 26) and the Election Commission will meet on Nov 6 to decide the key dates for the state polls.
Fazzrudin said PBB was holding its coordination briefing earlier because some of its campaign workers come from logistically challenging areas and the party is not prepared to leave things to chance.
At the coalition level, he added, GPS secretary-general Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi has already held similar discussions with component parties.
The other three parties in the coalition are the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
GPS is expected to stick to its previous seat allocation – PBB 47, SUPP 18, PRS 11 and PDP six – although a potential tussle could break out between SUPP and PDP.
Apart from PBB, the other party to win all the seats it contested in 2021 is PRS.
SUPP lost five, mainly Chinese-majority seats, while PDP lost one.
