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Borneo (Sarawak)

December 5, 2025

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KUCHING (Dec 5): A direct repeat of Sabah’s election outcome, where the Democratic Action Party (DAP) was completely wiped out, is unlikely to occur in Sarawak, opined Prof Dr Novel Lyndon.

The political analyst said this is despite heightened scrutiny on Pakatan Harapan (PH) and its component parties ahead of the Sarawak polls expected next year.

He said Sarawak’s distinct political landscape makes a duplication of Sabah’s results improbable, even as DAP Sarawak faces renewed challenges in several urban constituencies.

“In Sarawak, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition has a strong foothold rooted in governance, public service delivery, and state identity. In contrast to Sabah’s more dynamic political climate, voters in Sarawak emphasise local leadership, stability, and autonomy.

“These factors complicate any attempt to transfer national political upheavals like DAP’s significant loss in Sabah directly across the border,” he said.

Novel, who is Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) political sociology professor, said this in response to the Sabah state election 2025 results, which saw DAP losing all the eight seats contested.

In the 2020 election, DAP, a component of PH, had won six seats.

Novel said Sabah’s results have nevertheless tarnished PH’s national standing and created uncertainty over the coalition’s ability to maintain influence in East Malaysia.

According to him, this has placed DAP Sarawak — which holds two state seats — under pressure in its urban Chinese-majority strongholds, which are historically the party’s main support base.

“The outcomes from Sabah suggest that voters are increasingly frustrated with national narratives that overlook pressing local matters.

“For Sarawak, this necessitates a clear shift towards hyper-local communication prioritising developmental needs, cost-of-living concerns, land rights issues, and constituency-level services. Any indication that PH is promoting a peninsular-centric agenda could expose vulnerabilities that GPS may leverage,” he said.

He also predicted possible scenarios for DAP in the coming Sarawak election range from minor setbacks to retaining a limited presence of winning one to three seats.

“A total wipeout remains improbable unless several critical factors align: a breakdown of DAP’s grassroots support system, substantial anti-PH sentiment centred on national topics, and an overwhelming shift of urban support toward GPS. Currently, these conditions do not seem fully realised,” he said.

GPS’ performance in the coming election will hinge on candidate selection, grassroots mobilisation, and its ability to frame messages that resonate with Sarawak’s distinct socio-political setting, he said.

“Voters in Sarawak tend to be discerning and pragmatic. Thus, the forthcoming state election will hinge less on the repercussions from Sabah’s elections and more on how adeptly parties engage with Sarawak’s specific political environment,” he added.