KUCHING: The new faces of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) effectively demonstrated their ability to win the hearts of the people in the 15th general election (GE15).
Half of its 14 newcomers including a former senator triumphed their first bid for Parliament.
The formation of the coalition consists of four component parties namely the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) as the backbone, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).
Its new woman MP for Batang Sadong, Rodiyah Sapiee of PBB who replaced Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri for the seat was one of the fresh faces announced by the coalition.
Former senator Datuk Seri Doris Sophia Brodie also won the Sri Aman seat. The PRS Women chief is the first Dayak woman to hold the position as a MP.
Datuk Willie Mongin was able to retain his Puncak Borneo seat under the GPS-PBB ticket this time. Previously, he won it on a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ticket in the GE14 in 2018.
Meanwhile, PBB candidates Mohammad Shafizan Kepli (Batang Lupar) and Dr Richard Rapu (Betong) also won in their respective seats with a majority of 14,463 and 11,302 votes respectively.
PRS candidates; Roy Angau Gingkoi and Edwin Banta, on the other hand, garnered the most votes in Lubok Antu and Selangau respectively.
The rest of the newcomers, however, were not successful in winning the seats contested from the opposition parties.
Those parliamentary seats that showed strong support by opposing parties’ supporters proved to be an uphill task to Lideng Disen of PDP in Mas Gading, Eric Tay Tze Kok of SUPP (Bandar Kuching), Lo Khere Chiang of SUPP (Stampin), Giendam Jonathan Tait of PDP (Saratok), Wong Ching Yong of SUPP (Lanang), Clarence Ting Ing Horh of SUPP (Sibu) and Jeffrey Phang Siaw Foong of SUPP (Miri).
