The loss of the Puncak Borneo parliamentary seat by the Barisan Nasional (BN)-Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) candidate in the 14th general election (GE14) is impossible to forget.
It was PBB’s first defeat in parliament for a long time, following the Ming Court crisis at the state level.
In the general election, BN-PBB candidate Jeannoth Sinel lost to Datuk Willie Mongin of Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) who won by a majority of 4,005 votes.
Willie garnered 18,865 votes, while Jeannoth obtained 14,860 votes. Buln Patrick Ribos, a STAR contender, got only 795 votes.
Based on the analysis afterwards, Jeannoth failed to resolve issues relating to his purchase of 100 acres of communal land claimed to be owned by residents of Kampung Stabut, Kampung Maang and Kampung Chupak.
Jeannoth received strong support from the Bidayuh leadership in PBB at that time, and they were confident that this issue could be resolved before the voting process began.
Camp Willie cleverly manipulated this issue. The attack on the “candidate” moved the votes and loyalty of many PBB followers and Willie eventually became the elected representative.
Willie contested in the Mambong parliamentary seat in 2013, but lost to the late Datuk Seri Dr James Dawos Mamit (BN-PBB) by a majority of 9,721 votes.
In 2011, he also contested for the Bengoh state seat, but garnered just 4,447 votes, falling short of Datuk Dr Jerip Susil, who received 8,093 votes.
Willie again sought re-election in the Mambong state constituency in 2016, but received 2,654 fewer votes than the direct BN candidate, who received 6,161 votes.
In the 2021 state election, he stood firmly behind Dr Jerip, and that “support” was later turned into acceptance to PBB last August.
Numerous parties are still unsure about Willie’s position ahead of the nomination of the GE15 candidates on Nov 5.
Will he be retained as the incumbent candidate? Will he be able to gather support from his former ‘enemies’ in the area? Is his support still as strong as it was during the last election?
To be honest, Willie performed admirably as a MP. He is not only dedicated on the field and ground, but his presence in the Dewan Rakyat is noticeable.
For the first two years, he sat in the “backbencher” seat, successfully raised a variety of issues and teased the opposition.
After being involved in the Sheraton Move, Willie, a former software developer, was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Plantation Industry and Commodities in March 2020.
He then applied to join PBB as he believed that his presence in Bersatu was temporary.
Sarawak Premier and PBB president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg decided to accept Willie into the party after weighing all criteria, including asking all Bidayuh leaders in the party.
Calls for the Puncak Borneo seat to be returned to PBB were also slowly dying down as the seat now belongs to the party following Willie’s participation in the party.
Willie, although a newcomer to the PBB party, hopes to be given the opportunity to defend his seat in this general election. He is certain of his capacity to do the work.
He did, however, state that he would continue to follow whatever the party leadership decided.
It’s not easy as names such as Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn, a Tarat assemblyman, and Cr Wejok Tomik, a lawyer and former PBB Puncak Borneo chief, were among those mentioned as possible candidates for the seat.
For the record, Wejok, a lawyer, once contested against Dr Jerip as an independent candidate in the 2011 state election. He was accepted back into the party and is now a councillor in the Bau District Council. His name was also raised as a potential candidate in 2018.
Neither Willie nor Wejok will win easily. The PKR is said to be prepared to contest against the GPS candidate. And the potential candidate is Diog Dios who is also the PKR Sarawak vice chairman.
Dios is a former lecturer at the Tun Abdul Razak Teacher Education Institute and the founder of the Borneo Peak Residents Association.
Meanwhile, Aspirasi also has named George Young Si Ricord Junior as the candidate for Puncak Borneo.
Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) is considering a number of potential candidates, including political veteran Sanjan Daik.
