GE13: Opposition confident of winning 12 out of 31 seats come May 5

SIBU: The target set by the Opposition to win 12 seats out of 31 contested in Sarawak in the 13th general election is not far-fetched.

DAP Sarawak chairman Wong Ho Leng believes this is achievable, adding that the confidence stems from the Ubah (change) spirit that is happening now. Speaking at a press conference here yesterday, he said of the 12 seats, two would be bagged by SWP.

“I am saying this as a neutral person and this outlook is based on information from a political analyst and also from various sources. This is not impossible. Pakatan Rakyat targets 10 seats while the other two will come from SWP,” he said.

The seats, Wong revealed, were Bandar Ku-ching, Stampin, Lanang, Sarikei, Bintulu, Kanowit, Selangau, Baram, Julau, Saratok and Lubok Antu.

The former Sibu MP, however, is not defending this constituency due to his illness.

Adding on, Wong said the Opposition would also stand a chance to win Sibu as well as Limbang, Mas Gading and Mambong, which Barisan had classified as “dark and gray areas”.

Elaborating on the Sibu seat, he noted that Barisan had rated their chances of winning at 52% to 48% while DAP’s rating was 55% to 45%.

“We are not too worried about this rating as we are looking at 51% in favour of DAP. Just like in the 2010 by-election, we started off with a rating of 45% but on polling day we won with a 51% majority,” he added.

In the by-election, Wong won by a slim margin of 398 votes against SUPP’s Robert Lau and independent candidate Narawi Haron. Having said that, he said the DAP would turn to its candidate Oscar Ling to work very hard to win this seat. Ling is involved in a three-cornered fight with SUPP’s Vincent Lau and Narawi in the polls.

Wong’s claims seemed to be at odds with the statement made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak here on Saturday night in which he said the opposition’s initial target of winning 14 seats which was later scaled down to 10, was just a “dream” and the people should not be fooled by it.

Separately, Wong said Pakatan Rakyat hoped that SWP would join the Opposition after the elections. “As it seems that SWP is contesting as an opposition now, we hope they would be with us after the polls. We will discuss this after the elections,” he added-thestar online