Amanah acknowledges that it faces a heavy task in changing the perception of Sarawakians who wrongly associate it with being a peninsular-based party.

Its president, Mohamad Sabu (above) said that in the face of any election, the first task needed to be dealt with was the machinery, while the second was shaping the perception of the people.

“For example, during the 2018 general election in the Kota Raja parliament constituency, the (winning) majority of 71,000 was not because of a great candidate or machinery but the perception of the people changed to reject our opponents.

"Perception needs to be changed so that they are in our favour," the defence minister said in his address at the Sarawak Amanah Election Bureau Convention in Kuching today.

Also present were Deputy Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Hatta Ramli and Sarawak Amanah chairperson Mohamad Fidzuan Zaidi.

“As long as we do not change this mindset, the people of Sarawak will not vote Amanah.

“It is a big task for us to make them realise that we are actually a national party representing everyone at the national and state levels," Mohamad said.

He said DAP was more successful in Sarawak as they were not considered a “peninsular party”.

- Bernama