Search

Geopolitics means the influence of political power with a place. Geopolitics can also be said to be a political study of the state of a place whether in terms of age, ethnicity, source of political information, local culture or development. Therefore, it is the purpose of this study to analyze the political behavior of voters by making the Tumpat Parliamentary constituency, Kelantan as a case study area. This study uses questionnaires, face -to -face interviews, reference data on 2018 election results and related secondary sources such as books, journal articles, as well as conference/symposium/seminar papers and also from electronic media such as internet and social media. The findings of the study show that majority of respondents chose local and people-friendly leaders as the criteria for selecting leaders. As for the criteria of a supported political party, they choose a political party that has a good track record and experience (economic and social) and has a clean, credible and educated leader. As for the orientation or tendency of political choice, they understand the characteristics of party political ideology that transcends racial/religious characteristics but prioritizes the struggle and values of social justice, democracy, trust, integrity and progress. They also tend to choose political parties that fight for issues of universal values such as transparency, good governance, justice, honesty and racial equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sarawak Party Coalition (GPS) backed by Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) which was formed after the 2018 General Election (GE) following the defeat of Barisan Nasional (BN) at the federal level is the ruling party in Sarawak since the first Sarawak State Legislative Assembly General Election. This political party has the experience of ruling Sarawak by shaping the political thinking of development among the voters in the state. The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly General Election 2021 was held following the dissolution of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly on 3 November 2021 after being delayed since the end of the fiveyear term (until 7 June 2016) which is 6 June 2021 due to the declaration of emergency by the Federal Government nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This Sarawak State Legislative Assembly General Election can see the influence of GPS in the geopolitical stage of Sarawak in the country and the state is still in a state of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Therefore, the purpose of writing this article is to analyze the strengthening of GPS political power over Sarawak geopolitics in Sarawak DUN 2021. Based on data analysis of Sarawak State Legislative Assembly General Election 2021 results, field observations and analysis of secondary sources, the findings show that the strengthening of voter support for GPS factors namely GPS experience of ruling Sarawak, GPS leadership known to voters, realistic GPS election manifesto, continuation of Sarawak development program, experienced and systematic GPS election machinery, impact of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, Sarawak opposition party vote split and percentage drop urban voters who are pro -opposition parties. Therefore, the strengthening of GPS politics in the geopolitics of Sarawak shows the importance of experience in governing and having a well -organized party machinery to win elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]