Sarawak dalam Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-14: Cabaran Kepada Konsep Strongman dan Penaung-dinaung (Sarawak In The 14th General Election: The Challenge of The Strongman and Patron-Client Concepts)

Abstract

Sarawak is regarded as Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold. BN has never lost in the state and parliamentary elections. The Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BNS) strength is associated with the concepts of strongman and patron-client. Through these two concepts, the BNS leadership has been able to utilize various government facilities to burnish their reputation as the people’s champion to win in every election. This effort had led to the great success of the BNS in the elections and allowed them to retain power in Sarawak by winning nearly 90 percent of parliamentary seats. However, the 14th general election challenged the concepts of strongman and patron-client in Sarawak. Although the BNS managed to win half the parliamentary seat in Sarawak, some Bumiputera seats were won by the opposition. In previous elections BNS had always won these Bumiputera seats. This shows that the Bumiputera voters have the tendency to support Pakatan Harapan (PH). Consequently, the BNS can no longer depend on government facilities and rhetoric of BNS as a development agent to provide them with a continuous victory. Therefore, BNS must work harder and focus more on people-oriented issues, rather than recycling old issues that voters are slowly rejecting now.