GEORGE TOWN: The Chinese voters in Sandakan remain firmly behind the DAP notwithstanding their uneasiness over economic and governance issues, making it difficult for Barisan Nasional (BN) or Gerakan to take the seat.
Gerakan party veteran Wong Mun Hoe said the DAP had successfully convinced a majority of those in the community that even the Chinese-based parties in BN were subservient to Umno.
“The DAP has portrayed Umno as the ‘absolute evil’ thanks to the many corruption charges its leaders are facing in court now,” he said.
Wong said Gerakan would need time to cleanse itself of the “toxins” it picked up through its long association with Umno.
Gerakan became a BN component party in the 1970s and only opted out after the coalition was ousted in the 14th general elections on May 9, last year.
Just like the DAP, Gerakan is predominantly Chinese although it portrays itself as multiracial.
The Sandakan parliamentary seat fell vacant upon the death of its incumbent Datuk Stephen Wong of a heart attack on March 28. He was the Sabah DAP chairman.
According to the latest electoral rolls, Sandakan has 39,777 registered voters, of whom 49% are Chinese. Muslim Bumiputras make up 45% of the electorate and non-Muslim Bumiputras another 5%.
Umno and PAS have already announced that they are staying out of the by-election but Parti Bersatu Sabah, once also a component of BN, has expressed interest. MCA and Gerakan have yet to make a formal announcement, but with Wong’s assessment, Gerakan is likely to give this by-election a miss as well.
He felt that the Chinese might only reconsider their support for Pakatan Harapan when problems such as rising cost of living, unemployment, climate change and poor governance began to bite.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced that the government would be launching several projects worth RM2.28 billion in Sandakan. The projects include an expansion of the airport and upgrading roads and drainage systems.
