There are 108 independent candidates contesting in this 15th general election (GE15), making it one of the highest in history.
It is almost a five-fold increase compared to 24 people in GE14.
There are various reasons for these individuals to stand and contest on an independent ticket. Among them is to test one’s authority and popularity.
There are those who think that they deserve to be leaders. There are individuals who have a lot of money and want to find new experience.
There are also those who stand as a sign of protest against the incumbent or any other candidate.
In certain cases, there are also those who are disappointed because they were not nominated by the party they are with. On top of that, there are also candidates who contested for being told to do so.
Around the 1970s to the 2000s, contesting on independent tickets was a source of income for some. These people are referred to as ‘ghost candidates’.
These candidates will register themselves in seats where there is usually a chance for the incumbent or a new face to achieve a slight win or in seats that are too close to call. Therefore, independent candidates would come in, get nominated and would normally announce their withdrawal as a candidate some time later to support one of the contestants.
In today’s context, independent candidates are also still relevant as a political strategy. They are sent to compete in strategic seats, to split the votes, if the opponent looks likely to win.
In the last state election, political scientists found several candidates that were sent in to split the votes.
One will never know their fate. There are also some independent candidates who won unexpectedly. It happened in 2018 in the Batu parliament seat (Kuala Lumpur) when 22-year-old Prabakaran Parameswaran volunteered to contest.
When the nomination process took place, Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate Tian Chua faced a problem. Prabakaran, who was then strongly assisted by the opposition party at the time, won the contest.
In the same year, two independent candidates in Sarawak also won in the Lubok Antu parliamentary seat and the Julau parliamentary seat.
In GE15, a total of 11 persons have registered as independent candidates in nine parliamentary seats in Sarawak.
In the P193 Santubong parliamentary seat, the independent candidate is a 59-year-old entrepreneur, Affendi Jeman.
The P199 Serian parliamentary seat is also witnessing a former member of PBB Serian branch, Dr Alim Impira.
Dr Alim, 62, is also a former deputy director of the Royal Customs and Excise Department for Sabah and Sarawak.
In P202 Sri Aman, incumbent, Datuk Masir Kujat, 68, is defending the seat on an Independent ticket. This is after he was not nominated by any party, after announcing his withdrawal from Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB).
In P204 Betong, a former political secretary, Hasbie Sata, 49, is also contesting under an independent ticket.
Hasbie is contesting under the boat logo because of his interest in racing boats, until he had a team called Jang, which had competed in the Sarawak Regatta.
In the P209 Julau parliamentary seat, the independent candidate is Elly Lawai Ngalai, 55 years old.
Elly Lawai is a former member of PSB and was a candidate for the 12th state election contesting in the Meluan state seat.
At that time, he lost by 822 votes to Rolland Duat Jubin. It was his second attempt, after contesting as an independent candidate in the 2016 state election, losing by 677 votes.
P210 Kanowit is seeing the largest number of independent candidates in the 15th general election.
They are Dr Ellie Luhat, 64, a former member of Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) and Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) Baru. Dr Ellie, who holds a PhD in the forestry field, is also a former member of the Malaysian Rubber Board.
Also betting his luck, is former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) member who had contested in Machan in the 2016 state election – George Chen Nguk Fa. Chen, 59, is the former chief of PKR Kanowit branch.
Another independent candidate in this seat is a veteran of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) who was once removed from the party, Michael Lias, 61 years old.
Lias was previously in the limelight after he tried to challenge the SNAP number one post before being removed from the party, as a result of the majority decision of the SNAP Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting.
In the P211 Lanang parliamentary seat, the independent candidate is a community leader, Kapitan Datuk Wong Tiing Kiong, 60 years old.
Tiing Kiong is a familiar figure among the people of Sibu, as he is known as a friendly, outspoken and very humble person.
He admitted that he submitted himself as a candidate for GE15 as a prank on his friends.
No less testing his fate is a lawyer, Henry Joseph Usau, 62, who is contesting in P214 Selangau. He will face a three-cornered fight, for the seat vacated by former Sarawak PKR chairman, Baru Bian.
In P220 Baram parliamentary seat, independent Wilfred Entika Rebai, 64 is in a three-cornered fight against GPS and PH candidate.
Wilfred said he contested after he found many problems or issues in the area that failed to be voiced in Parliament.
For whatever reason, independent candidates are actually in the last line of bidding.
They will have no chance of establishing a government and will need luck and work hard to win.
ends
