DRIZZLING and heavy rain in most parts of Sarawak on Friday night did nothing to cool the ‘political heat’ that had reached its climax.
Some candidates who had delivered their ‘grand finale’ speeches, chose to tone down their campaign activities in order to create a calm environment.
Journalists and PDRM special branch officers were among the busiest, being asked for their final analysis before the voting process began on Saturday.
On the final night, the campaign reached fever pitch, with letters, poisoned words, prayers, and cries of appeal being extended and shared to their full extent.
As a final persuasion and incitement to each candidate, TikTok and Whatsapp videos were shared.
The truth is that by dawn, every voter has made up his or her mind about who they will vote for. There aren’t many people who do it at the last minute.
The same goes for those who do not have a stand — ‘shoot’ at will, because they are forced to vote. Nor would they choose to spoil their vote.
There are 1.94 million registered voters in Sarawak and they have the opportunity to fulfill this democratic responsibility in 31 parliamentary constituencies.
After 14 days of campaigning, pleading, and greetings, a total of 92 candidates have now surrendered their fate to the voters.
This is not an easy task, because the 14-day campaign period is quite long in comparison to the previous 20 years, which were between 11 and 12 days.
A great deal of time, money and energy has been expended. As a result, it is not surprising that the last appeal at the polling station without the party logo is still among the remaining strategies.
With the rainy and hazy political environment that has prevailed for the past four years, many parties predict a voter turnout of 75 percent or less.
Some predict even worse in Chinese-majority areas.
Despite the fact that several locations compete fiercely, the political climate in Sarawak is easy to predict.
The writer finished in the bottom 70% of the field this time, and it was clear which way the vote would go.
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is expected to dominate up to 27 seats, but more hard work at the last minute would allow dominance up to 31 seats.
However, it is dependent on the final strategy as well as the number of people who vote – because the pattern of new voter turnout is extremely difficult to predict. What’s the reason? They are not physically present at the campaign, but they are active on social media.
If GPS wins 31 seats, it will be able to form a strong alliance known as Pakatan Borneo with any Sabah party.
On the other hand, attention is focused on the Peninsula’s three major alliances: Pakatan Harapan (PH), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN).
According to intelligence sources, these three tents claim to have enough seats and are just waiting for the right moment to propose to GPS, which is said to be throwing a big party.
As of Friday night, sources were whispering that PH will have a 70-80 seat lead, with PN and BN fighting for a slightly smaller number of seats.
As a result, GPS support had to be pioneered, and the three alliances are said to be knocking on the door, so that negotiations can begin as early as last night.
Whatever decision is made, GPS will continue to have the status of ‘kingmaker,’ giving it the ability to demand and control.
However, many other details, including DAP’s position, must be refined in the context of collaboration with PH.
But, if we consider interpretations and studies from various research firms, a new political alignment with a mixed government will almost certainly occur.
But politics is still politics, and there are a million and one ways to play it.
It’s just that who will be Prime Minister remains unknown.
If this crisis is difficult to resolve, it is not impossible that the Prime Minister will be a representative from Borneo, or, more specifically, Sarawak.
