For the past 10 years, Sarawak had been both the barometer and the vanguard of political change in Malaysia.

DAP’s breakthrough win of six State Assembly seats in the 2006 Sarawak GE heralded the “political tsunami” in the 12th GE in Malaysian parliamentary elections in 2008 which saw the Barisan Nasional losing power in five states – Penang, Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Kelantan.

DAP’s doubling from six to 12 State Assembly seats in the 2011 Sarawak GE heralded the 13th GE in Malaysian parliamentary elections in 2013, which should have toppled Barisan Nasional from Putrajaya as Pakatan Rakyat won 53% of the popular vote, but because of an unfair and undemocratic electoral system, Datuk Seri Najib Razak became the first minority Prime Minister in Malaysia.

What will happen in the May 7, 2016 Sarawak state elections, and what has it in store for the 14th GE in Malaysian parliamentary elections which must be held by 2018?

There are both certainties and imponderables in the 11th Sarawak State General Elections on May 7. Read the rest of this entry »