Ba'kelalan to witness five-cornered fight

LAWAS (Sarawak): The battle for the Ba'kelalan seat in the 12th Sarawak state election will witness incumbent Baru Bian from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) facing a five-cornered fight.

He will be up against Parti Gabungan Sarawak (GPS)'s candidate Sam Laya, Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK)'s Peter Asut, PKR's Martin Samuel Labo and Independent candidate, Agnes Padan.

The final list of candidates eligible to contest was announced by Ba'kelalan returning officer Joseph Ganang Surang at the candidate nomination centre at the Lawas district office's old building here.

Baru, who is also a PSB Presidential Council member, will defend the Ba'kelalan seat for the third consecutive term; he won the seat in two previous state elections in 2011 and 2016 on a PKR ticket.

In the 2016 state election, Baru defeated the candidate from the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) which is now known as the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), by a slim majority of 486 votes.

Based on the Election Commission (EC) data, Ba'kelalan has a total of 8,503 registered voters.

-- BERNAMA