Voter’s Acceptance and Preferences of Candidates in Sarawak

Election 2016: A Case Study of Jemoreng and Daro Constituencies

Junaidi Saudi bin Narani

and Fairuz Hidayat Merican bin Wan Merican

Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Sarawak, Malaysia

Keywords: Acceptance, perception, preferences, vox populi, amor patriae

Abstract: The Sarawak Election 2016 saw a rare practice where active and performing incumbents of Jemoreng and

Daro were denied candidatures in the National Front team to contest the election. This study aims at

investigating acceptance of voters on new candidates, their perception on the incumbents, and identifying

their preferences of ideal candidates. The instruments for primary data collection are structured

questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed and forty semi

structured interviews were conducted. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were analyzed with

Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. The Cronbach’s Alpha levels for the overall

constructs range from 0.7108 to 0.9029 proved that the scores obtained from the instruments were reliable.

The acceptable and preferred candidates were perceived by voters, among others as people-friendly, high

morale, easily available or being seen, concerned for people, experienced, and highly able to bring vox

populi to the government. The voter’s perceptions on the incumbents are positive, and still winnable. The

incumbents has demonstrated incontestable demeanor putting self-interest aside, party politics first, and

share common values of professionalism, and team spirit for the amor patriae of Sarawak, Land of the

Hornbills.

1 INTRODUCTION

An election is a crucial moment in the life of

democracies. It is a political process to determine the

ruling government and provide the opportunity for

the people to select the best candidates to the office

in the legislative assemblies, and eventually to run

the government. Elections in Malaysia are held at

two levels; the federal level and the state level. The

federal level is the parliamentary election to choose

federal representatives for the Dewan Rakyat or

Lower House of Parliament. The state election

enables the people to choose representatives in the

State Legislative Assembly. There is no election at

the local government level.

The parliamentary elections and the state

elections in Malaysia, except for Sarawak run

concurrently in every five years. Sarawak is

enjoying the political privilege of a separate election

at the state level that no other states in Malaysia ever

do. The ruling National Front (Barisan Nasional,

abbreviated as BN) candidates were contesting in all

the 82 seats, of which eleven (11) are new

constituencies with new faces representing the BN.

In liberal democracies, access to power is gained

by winning elections (Louw, 2010). Politicians and

political parties went entirely out to influence,

convince or even induce voters to support and vote

for them. Politicians even focus on their image,

identity, personality, and capabilities to garner

support. Money and other incentives like the

announcement of projects or programs to benefit the

people are also common baits to lure voters.

According to Gramsci, in order to retain power,

hegemony or dominant political supremacy has to be

built (Gramsci, 1971). In the process, the people

need to naturally accept the dominant group's

leadership, moral codes, and practices. In Malaysia,

discourses or even sermons and talks in mosques or

other places of worship are typical strategies for

campaigning. The official and mainstream media

helps build consent, legitimacy, and spread support

for the dominant BN. Elections in Malaysia and the

Sarawak Election 2016 were not discharged entirely

from this style or mode of the election campaign.

1504

Saudi bin Narani, J. and bin Wan Merican, F.

Voter’s Acceptance and Preferences of Candidates in Sarawak Election 2016: A Case Study of Jemoreng and Daro Constituencies.

DOI: 10.5220/0009930815041510

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Recent Innovations (ICRI 2018), pages 1504-1510

ISBN: 978-989-758-458-9

1.1 Problem Statement

Problem Statement The usual candidacy practice by

BN was allowing incumbents who are active, fit and

winnable to stay re-nominated to be contested in the

election. The Sarawak Election 2016 saw an unusual

shift in this pattern of behavior by removing

incumbents and planting new candidates for the

coalition. This sudden practice can be unsafe or

hazardous and may lead to unpopular votes. In

quintessence, the Jemoreng and Daro constituencies

are considered safe with the incumbents. While

election campaigns have great influence and impact

on the election results, the voter's acceptance of the

new candidates and voter's perception on the

incumbents are crucial for winning the election,

requiring in-depth empirical investigations.

1.2 Research Objectives

This study is primarily to find out the people’s

acceptance on new BN candidates during the

campaigning period from 25

April, after the

nomination process until 6

May, 2016, before

polling on 7

May, 2016. The specific objectives on

candidacy issues were to investigate the level of

voter’s acceptance on the new BN candidates, to

seek voter’s perception on the incumbents, and to

identify the voter’s preferences of their candidates.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Politics is a decision-making process and the

struggle to gain access to decision-making positions

and resources that could be used to further one's

interests (Louw, 2010). The recently dissolved

government must be seen strong and effective to

reflect the continuous capability to rule the state and

to win the mandate of the people.

2.1 Ethno-political Landscape

Generally, the Sarawak political landscape shows

the diverse demographic ethnicity sharing political

power in an alliance of the ruling coalition in the

national front (BN) as against the very vocal but

powerless oppositions. Sarawak has a headcount of

2.6 million people, making up 9% of Malaysia’s

population.

Compared to its Peninsular counterpart, Sarawak

is very diverse comprising over 40 sub-ethnic

groups, each with its own distinct language, culture

and lifestyle. These various ethnicities are broadly

categorised into 6 groups which are Iban (30%),

Malay (24%), Chinese (24%), Bidayuh (8%), Orang

Ulu (7%) and Melanau (5%). Apart from the Malays

and Chinese, the other mentioned ethnic groups are

indigenous people who are also categorized as

Bumiputeras.

The unique acronym Perpaduan dalam

Kepelbagaian or translated ‘unity in diversity’ is

indeed the undisputed formula for the ruling

government’s hegemony. The local native ethnic

groups are mostly members of Bersatu Pesaka

Bumiputera (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS),

and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).

The United People’s Party (UPP) and Sarawak

National Party (SNAP) are multi-racial entities,

while Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP)

although multi-racial is entirely Chinese-based. Parti

Bangsa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDS Baru) and Parti

Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (TERAS) are entirely

Dayak-based political parties.

2.2 The Ruling Coalition

The local BN component parties officially consist of

PBB, SUPP, PRS, and SPDP which are all local-

based political parties. UPP and TERAS which are

splinters from SUPP and SPDP are not in the

coalition, but BN-friendly. The incumbent elected

representatives from UPP and TERAS were treated

as BN direct candidates and allowed to use BN

symbols in Sarawak Election 2016. They were given

the option to resign or quit their position in the party

before election and may choose to join any coalition

partners after winning the election.

2.3 The Opposition Front

The opposition parties in Sarawak currently holding

seats in the State Legislative Assembly are the

Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Keadilan

Rakyat (PKR). Other opposition parties that do not

have any seats in the House include the newly

formed Parti Amanah Negara (PAN), Parti Islam Se-

Malaysia (PAS) and smaller state-centric parties

such as the Sarawak National Party (SNAP), State

Reform Party (STAR), and Parti Bangsa Dayak

Sarawak Baru (PBDS Baru). The Oppositions Front

in the Sarawak Legislative assembly is headed by a

representative from DAP.

The opposition front was indeed facing an uphill

battle. The recent Sarawak's re-delineation exercise

saw the increased number of state constituencies

from seventy-one (71) to eighty-two (82) seats. Out

of the eleven (11) new seats, ten (10) are categorized

Voter’s Acceptance and Preferences of Candidates in Sarawak Election 2016: A Case Study of Jemoreng and Daro Constituencies

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as rural or semi-rural seats, of which traditionally are

BN strongholds.

The strength of the opposition partners, DAP and

PKR, is the urban seats. Apart from trying to

penetrate the rural constituencies, another challenge

for the opposition is to evade multi-cornered fights.

The new opposition coalition consists of DAP, PKR

and the newly formed Pakatan Harapan (PAN), as

PAS and SNAP remain standalone or detached.

Until there is a consensus in the opposition front to

ensure straight fight against BN in every

constituency, a fragmented opposition is unlikely to

win the polls. The BN, on the other hand, has

claimed that the conflicting seat allocation between

the component parties has been resolved.

2.4 Comparative Advantage

The BN Ruling Coalition has comparative

advantages over the Opposition Front over the

provision of the 2016 National Budget which was

termed by the oppositions as “Sarawak Election

Budget” where the allocations of funds for

development in the pretext “Politics of

Development”were geared to lure for voters.

The BN election manifesto focuses on fifteen

(15) points. The fifteen points are among others,

upholding the rights of Sarawak and its people,

improving the welfare of the less fortunate, creating

job opportunities, affordable housing for low and

middle income group, land matters, technical and

vocational education, and industrialize the state

through manufacturing, tourism and rural

transformation (Barisan Nasional Sarawak,

undated).

The Chinese factor is also appealing to the

people especially the urban Chinese where BN top

leader looks at race issue differently from his

predecessor. The present leadership promotes

equality by disapproving the Chinese as pendatang

or immigrant, and the state government to recognize

the United Examination Certificate (UEC) which are

popular qualification amongst the Chinese.

2.4 Voter’s Behavior

The 2008 and 2013 general elections have seen how

the urban voters have favored changes by voting

new political parties other than BN. A change in

social status would favor a new political outlook.

The early study in "The People's Choice"

acknowledged that social characteristics determine

political preference and a person think, politically, as

he is socially mobile (Lazarsfeld & Berelson, 1986).

Not many studies have been done in Malaysia on

social mobility and political behavior. Ratnam's

writing way back in 1965 forwarded the idea of

communalism in Malaysian politics. Later studies

re-echoed the same concern that there is communal

determinism in the choice of parties (Ratnam &

Milne, 1967). Hussin Mutalib has also posed the

idea of religion influencing communalism (Mutalib,

1990).

One of the indications that incumbent would

return to power lies on voters who are confident that

the government would restore peace and stability for

the future of the state and their families (Weschle,

2014). It would be a challenging proposition for the

opposition parties to gain a strong foothold on the

state if the voters were confident of the state and

their family under the present BN government.

General optimism continues to prevail among the

voters in Sarawak on the future of the country and

the future well-being of their family. The level of

optimism is far higher than in some countries.

Given this scenario, the incumbent party has a high

level of probability to be returned to power (Idid,

2016).

3 METHODOLOGY

The study involves both quantitative and qualitative

approached. A structured questionnaire will be

distributed to respondents with sample size based on

the Roscoe’s rules ofthumb. Semi-structured

interviews were also conducted to obtain

information to support the quantitative data.

Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics will be

analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Science

(SPSS) version 20.

Four hundred (400) questionnaires were

distributed equally in the two constituencies with

two hundred (200) sets in each. The distribution was

made on random basis to cover extensively the

wards or polling areas and villages in the respective

constituencies.

The returned questionnaires were 172 out of 200

or 86% for Jemoreng, and 170 out 200 or 85% for

Daro. The responses to questionnaires were in the

third-quarter percentile, and this shows that the

respondents are also active and contribute positively

to the study. A total number of 40 respondents in

each constituency were interviewed. Therefore, all

together there are 342 returned questionnaires for

quantitative data analysis and 80 structured

interviews to support the analysis.

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4 DEMOGRAPHICS

Majority of the respondents in both constituencies

are Melanau. Other ethnics are Malay, Iban and

Chinese. Further demographic break-up of the entire

respondents in this study are segregated into the

following categories; gender, age group, economic

activities, educational background, and their

monthly income.

The heads of households who are normally males

are targeted as respondents, but in this study females

who are also registered voters comprised 46.78% of

the respondents. There are 182 males compared to

160 females. The females particularly in Jemoreng

make about 50.58% of the respondents compared to

42.94% from Daro.

Their age range from 25 to 71 years of age, and

about 54.9% for both genders are in the age cohort

of between 35 to 54 years of age. Table 4.3 shows

the distribution of respondents’ age according to

category by study areas. In terms of age category,

79% of them fall under the labour force age group,

whilst only 11.70% are in the older age cohort. This

indicates that two-third of them are still in the active

working population group. The overall mean age of

respondents is 48.64 years old.

About 30% of respondents for the study are self-

employed involving in agricultural activities, petty

trading, operating sundry grocery stores, and

running small business with the highest (37%)

percentage shown in Daro. Jemoreng recorded

higher percentage of respondents engaged with

public sector at 29 per cent compared to Daro at

23%. On the overall, slightly more than one-quarter

(26%) is employed in the public sector, and about

18% were employed with private sectors. Majority

of those from the private sector are working in low

skilled jobs such as laborers, general workers,

welders, drivers, and plantation workers.

The distribution of educational attainment of

respondents in the study reveal that slightly more

than a quarter (28%) of the respondents are poorly

educated, only attained primary level education.

Those with secondary level education comprised

56%, while the remaining 16% had attained diploma

and tertiary education.

Across the two study areas, Daro had slightly

lower percentages of respondents who only had

primary level, only 18.8% compared to Jemoreng at

37%. Daro had the largest number of respondents

with secondary level and tertiary education at 64%

and 17% respectively. Overall, literacy level is at

84%.

The distribution of respondents’ incomes is made

at RM1000 interval. The respondent’s income are

inconsistent. On overall among income earners, a

large percentage (38%) are earning between

RM1001 to RM2000 per month, followed by 33% in

the earning in the category of RM1000 and less.

Jemoreng has more than a third (38%) of its

respondents earning monthly income about RM1000

and below, while Daro have 29% of its respondents

earning income under this category. The

respondents’ income is concentrated in the region of

RM3000 and below, and this is reported by 88% of

the respondents.

5 VOTER’S ACCEPTANCE OF

NEW CANDIDATES

The researchers seek to investigate the voters'

acceptance level on new candidates in each

constituencies based on the perceived five features

namely, (i) personal attributes of candidates, (ii)

capabilities on addressing people's needs and

development, (iii) community viewpoints, (iv)

communication attributes, and (v) qualification and

experience. Table 1 below shows the scores of

voter's acceptance level on the New Candidate

Jemoreng (NCJ) and New Candidate Daro (NCD)

based on the five features.

Table 1: Voter's acceptance of new candidates

5.1 Personal Attributes

First component is regarding the known personal

attributes of candidates to the respondents which

comprised of two points; integrity and self-carriage.

For NCD, there was high feedback on integrity at

65%, while NCJ recorded feedback of 60%. The

other personality aspect, self-carriage or in Malay

‘pembawaan diri’ is the attributes of friendliness,

openness, accessibility, affability, and cordiality.

NCD scored positive feedback of 53% while NCJ

recorded reverse feedback at 56.98%.

The interviews with respondents revealed that

NCD is well-liked by the people in his constituency.

One respondent was quoted as saying (translated),

“…a very good, friendly, smart District Officer. He

Voter’s Acceptance and Preferences of Candidates in Sarawak Election 2016: A Case Study of Jemoreng and Daro Constituencies

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left the Daro District Office with many legacies and

projects for the people to remember him. He has

great leadership quality, and you will find him an

asset as your representative”.

Another respondent was also quoted positively

saying, "…new candidate has his plan during this

campaign. He is very independent. He has

leadership in himself, and he knows what to do. He

will go far in politics".

Related to the above statement of independence

and leadership issues, the researcher has proven the

statement as fair and accurate. Based on a personal

interview with NCD himself, he found that after the

first week of campaign he has fully covered his

entire constituency in Daro District. Also, he has

extensively systematized his campaign in other

longhouses: Rh Gitai at Sg Ilas, Rh Nyait at Stubah

under Meradong District, all seven longhouses in

Passin under Matu District, and all eight longhouses

in Sg Lengan under Sibu District.

On the other side, NCJ is seen as less

independent. A respondent from Matu, who is a

professional coming home for the election,

challenged the leadership qualities in NCJ

comparing him to NCD. NCJ was perceived to rely

heavily on party’s machinery, particularly the

facilities like logistics and operation room provided

at the premises of a senior Member of Parliament

P207 Igan. The NCJ was also praised by the people

in his constituency although many of them have not

known him yet. Many respondents are of the same

opinion as said by one from Kpg Tian, Matu

referring NCJ as, “… (NCJ-mentioned name) is a

qualified candidate for the election. He is very

friendly, and we believe he can look after the rights

of the citizen". Three respondents at Matu Bazaar

said that they have heard a lot about NCJ but have

not seen him. However, they are fully aware that

NCJ is capable of championing their needs and

welfare. Another respondent who has not met NCJ

was saying in Malay (translated), “I saw him

(mentioned name) as a spiritual leader, though I

have not known him closer. We are always looking

forward to the best from him".

5.2 Perceived Capability

Regarding capability, related to perceived ability to

voice the needs of people in their constituency,

almost half (49.42%) of the respondents from

Jemoreng are undecided or would rather “wait and

see” compared to Daro at 42.94%. The feedback on

the perceived capability to voice the needs of people

for NCJ is 26.29 % compared to NCD at 50%.

Therefore, the voters from Daro were more

confident with their candidate's ability to voice their

needs.

On the capability to bring up development to the

area, both candidates are seen as being capable.

Positive feedback for both Jemoreng and Daro were

at 51 percent and 52 percent respectively. Both NCJ

and NCD have proven good service records in their

respective positions.

5.3 Community View-points

There was contrast feedbacks on community

viewpoints on the new BN candidates. With regards

to ‘concern for people,' 43.6% of the respondents

from Jemoreng choose sitting on the fence or

somewhat undecided, compared to Daro recorded

positive feedback at 68%. The Jemoreng voters are

not able to judge NCJ on this aspect as they have not

seen him around in the local community. One

respondent was quoted as saying “…until we see

him deliver, we judge. It is too early now, although

we are quite positive that he will be able to deliver”.

On the other hand, the Daro voters are more

confident with NCD as he has been a public figure

in Daro, and has been seen with the community in

official functions while serving the district. It is still

fresh in the mind of voters. One respondent has

proudly mentioned about NCD as "…he was an icon

for Daro, and is going to be great in a different

capacity."

5.4 Communication Skill

Both candidates, are competent in all the languages

spoken in their constituencies. However, NCD is

reckoned to be better and well-versed in Iban

language and communicate effectively in all the

longhouses during the campaign period. A group of

five Iban respondents in an interview acknowledged

the Iban language competency of NCD at the recent

meet the people sessions at (Rumah) Rh. Dawi, Rh.

Brinau, Rh. Johntan, Rh. Jantai, and (Nanga) Ng.

Semah. The session led by NCD in Iban language

was very smooth and effective. No feedback on the

candidate’s proficiency in Iban language was

obtained for NCJ.

On articulation of issues or the act of giving

utterance or expression on current issues by the new

candidates, their scores are highly positive. Both

candidates are deemed or perceived to be excellent

in bringing and expressing issues to the people.

On interaction through personal communication,

NCD scored high positive feedback of 68.82% while

NCJ garnered negative feedback of 49.42%. The

reasons for low interaction with the people by NCJ,

among others are likely due to his ‘absences' in the

community before the election, and that his previous

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job is not at all related to the constituency, giving

him no room for interaction with the people.

5.5 Education and Working

Experience

Examining the educational background of the

respondents is important (Cochrane, 1979).

Education background had multiple effects on the

access to information, market opportunities, non-

market efficiency, attitudes, behavior patterns, and

status. The reasonable assumption is that the

respondent's educational level would influence the

decision of voters to vote for or against the

candidate.

Education and working experience scored almost

the same feedback for both NCJ and NCD. Voters

from both constituencies are well-informed of their

academic qualification and working experience.

Both NCJ and NCD have their post-graduate

academic qualification and local people in their

constituency. Their scores on qualifications are on

the high side of 60.46% for NCJ and 76.47% NCD.

The voters of Jemoreng are not well-informed of

NCJ‘s doctorate credential as he scored lower

compared to NCD who holds a master's degree. On

their working experience, NCJ and NCD scored

68.60% and 67.06%.respectively. NCJ was with the

Sarawak State Religious Department before

attachment to the Perlis State Islamic Council as

Mufti. NCD has been with the state service all the

while, formerly as District Officer Daro and

subsequently as Senior Executive in Sarawak

Economic Development Corporation. Both

candidates have sound senior-position working

experience in the professional and managerial group

in the Malaysian civil service.

6 PERCEPTIONS ON THE

INCUMBENTS

For the incumbents, given the chance with BN

tickets, both Candidates could still win the election.

Unless, they switch over to opposition or as an

independent candidate, there is less or otherwise no

chance of winning. An Iban respondent from Ilas

area at the Igan Ferry was quoted referring to

Jemoreng incumbent a very humble representative,

very good individual, and has served the people

well.

Another respondent from the same area was also

quoted in local dialect as saying that it will be very

difficult if they do not vote for the government side

because they will lose all the assistances from the

government, and considering also that they still have

a number of children in schools. To him, they do not

seem to have any choice but to vote for the previous

government.

A member of focus group in Kampong Igan

relates his past experience in the election of the 1987

that incumbent could not win when he is not in the

BN. This respondent reveals that even the one who

was popular, and who has been the chief minister in

the past has also lost the election in the opposition.

The ex-Chief Minister under the flagship of

PERMAS (Sarawak Malaysian People’s

Association) was defeated at N24 Matu-Daro. This

was also proven in the Sarawak Election 2016 when

the incumbent of Kedup who challenged the BN

Coalition at N23 Bukit Semuja was heavily defeated

to BN with only 1,196 votes to 5,769 (Utusan

Borneo, 8

May,2016).

The incumbent of Daro was also a favorite

candidate, and given the chance he could also win

the election. A good number of respondents were

satisfied with the services he has rendered during his

tenure as the people’s representative.

Loyalty to BN is the weightage for both

candidates. On overall, 63% gave positive feedback

claiming that they will vote for BN no matter who

the candidate is. To them the candidate was chosen

by BN top leaders, and on their part they must be

loyal to their leader. Loyalty to BN leadership is a

fact predominant in the rural setting where the ruling

BN government is as if their only life, bread and

butter. The loyalty to BN government in Jemoreng

and Daro is at 53% and 64% respectively. Hence,

researchers conclude that as long as the loyalty to

BN is high, any candidate representing BN in the

rural setting is always winnable. In Sarawak, it is

very safe for the BN coalition to change their

candidates although the incumbents are winnable.

7 PREFERENCES OF

CANDIDATES

It is obvious that voters are also selective on their

preferred candidates. Amongst their favorites of

preferred candidates are those who are well-

qualified with professional and managerial

experience, ability to bring vox populi (voices of the

people) to the government, people friendly and

accessible in time of needs, and having a very high

concern for the people in the constituencies.

Voter’s preferred candidate must also be seen

with the people, and will always be there with the

people in time of need. Having known the

candidates earlier prior to election has its own

advantages as the candidate no longer needs

Voter’s Acceptance and Preferences of Candidates in Sarawak Election 2016: A Case Study of Jemoreng and Daro Constituencies

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introduction. The case of NCD and NCJ in this

election demonstrates the importance of being

known earlier and being seen around with the

electorates. Past contributions to the community

especially of NCD are undeniably an acta non verba

(deeds, not words) that counts for him winning the

election.

Despite all the good qualities of the candidates, a

plenty of voters also vote for the party (BN) of

which the candidate is attached. By ipso facto, this

group of voters put trust in the strength of the party

and its leadership. The legacy of the BN government

bringing development, security, and socio-economic

benefits to people from all walks of life has created

this scenario possible

8 CONCLUSIONS

Removing the incumbents who are still active and

winnable is a great challenge. It is an acid test for

both new candidates to show that they are good

enough to succeed and to tell the incumbents that it’s

time for them to give way. Unexpectedly, the

process of change has gone smooth in Jemoreng and

Daro with NCJ and NCD tested successfully on the

polling day.

The implication shows the precedence were set

for future leaders especially in Sarawak to replace

incumbents irrespective of them having good

performances. The BN top leaders can consider

replacing any incumbent in the future elections when

their report card indicates the diminishing

performances, medically unfit or when they are

thought of lesser winnable.

From this study, its shows that the incumbents

of Jemoreng and Daro are two special individuals,

not only showing high degree of loyalty to the

instruction of top leader but also possess an

incontestable demeanor by putting self-interest

aside, party politics first, and all of their sacrifices

are for amor patriae, Sarawak - The Land of the

Hornbills.

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Idid, S. A. 2016. Seminar on Eleventh Sarawak State

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Lazarsfeld, P., & Berelson, B. 1986. The People's Choice:

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Louw, E. 2010. The Media and Political Process. Sage

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Mutalib, H. (1990). Islam and Ethnicity in Malay Politics.

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Ratnam, K., & Milne, R. 1967. The Malayan

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Weschle, S. 2014. Two Types of Economic Voting: How

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