The significance of the 1970 election on Iban and Sarawak politics

Abstract

The 1970 Sarawak state election is the first direct election held in the state Before the election, the state leadership was provided by the lban through SNAP from 1963-1966, and then through PESAKA from 1966-1970. PESAKA was the biggest party in the state, and the leader of the three-party state alliance that formed the state government. After the election, BUMIPUTERA became the biggest party in the state alliance when it obtained twelfth seats, compared to PESAKA nine seats. When BUMIPUTERAand SUPP, an opposition party during the election, formed a coalition government in 1970, a Malay took over the state leadership. Political infighting between PESAKA and SNAP, and the presence of I ban independent candidates was one of the main factors which influenced the outcome of the 1970 election in many I ban areas. The aim of this paper is to show how political disunity among the I ban in the 1970 election had led to the community to lose the state leadership, and how it affects and impacts their politics, and Sarawak politics, in general.