KUCHING: The Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Women's Wing is stepping up its grassroots mobilisation efforts ahead of the 13th Sarawak State Election (PRN13), with a focus on reaching voters, strengthening coordination and ensuring a strong turnout on polling day.

Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the confirmation of the nomination and polling dates would allow the Women's Wing machinery at every Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) constituency to focus its efforts and plan its campaign activities within the stipulated period.

She said the Women's Wing would work closely with the Pemuda, Belia and Bapak wings as one united PBB and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) team, with each wing complementing one another to ensure effective voter outreach.

Coordination would be led by the Ketua Bilik Gerakan (Main Operation Centre) at every Cawangan and Ranting level to ensure that the grassroots machinery remained organised, effective and well-connected with voters.

"Our objective is clear: strong teamwork, effective mobilisation and maximum voter support for GPS," she said.

Dato Sri Fatimah acknowledged that reaching voters in rural and remote constituencies could be challenging due to scattered settlements, long distances, transportation constraints and weather conditions.

However, she said the Women's Wing had an established grassroots network and experience in engaging communities, giving it the ability to respond to these challenges.

"Our strength lies in our presence in the communities even before the election and our direct relationships with the people.

"Now that we know the campaign timeline, we must switch to full gear, organise our visits strategically, coordinate closely with our branch leaders and ensure that no community is overlooked," she said.

She added that telephone communication and digital platforms would also be utilised where appropriate, although face-to-face engagement remained essential, particularly in areas with limited internet connectivity.

On the challenges ahead, Dato Sri Fatimah identified the increase in the number of new voters following the implementation of automatic voter registration and Undi18 as one of the key areas requiring attention.

She said the Women's Wing needed to reach out to these voters while ensuring that its grassroots machinery remained motivated, coordinated and focused throughout the campaign.

She stressed that voter mobilisation required sustained efforts before, during and on polling day, beginning with identifying voters, maintaining contact and understanding their concerns.

During the campaign, the priority would be to communicate the party's message clearly and strengthen support for GPS, while polling day preparations would focus on ensuring supporters exercised their democratic right to vote.

"A strong political mandate depends not only on how many people support us, but also on how many of them actually turn out to vote.

"Therefore, voter mobilisation is a critical responsibility of a well-coordinated team comprising the Women's, Pemuda, Belia and Bapak wings," she said.

Dato Sri Fatimah said the immediate priority was to ensure that the entire machinery, from state-level leadership down to branches and grassroots teams, was fully prepared for nomination and polling days.

For nomination day, the Women's Wing would coordinate with party leadership and constituency machinery, ensure that the necessary support arrangements were in place and prepare to begin campaigning in accordance with Election Commission regulations.

For polling day, she said preparations would include verifying voter information, coordinating teams, establishing clear communication channels and planning arrangements to assist and mobilise supporters to cast their votes.

She emphasised that discipline, vigilance and sincere engagement with the people would remain essential throughout the election period.

"The Women's Wing is ready to shoulder its responsibility. We will work hard before, during and after the campaign because serving the people is not merely an election activity; it is an ongoing commitment," she said.

Dato Sri Fatimah reaffirmed the Women's Wing's commitment to working for GPS and Sarawak, in line with the spirit of 'Sarawak Ibu Pertiwiku'. -UKASnews

Translator: Uilson Ng