A possible six-cornered fight for the newly carved state constituency of Balai Ringin in Sarawak spells trouble for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, said political observers.

The BN is expected to field Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) member Snowdon Lawan who is considered an 'outsider' to those in the predominantly Iban seat in the Sri Aman Division.

Recently, five other hopefuls have publicly announced their interest to contest, which is expected in May.

They are businessman Cobbold John Lusoi from the yet-to-be-registered Malaysian Dayak Congress, businesswomen Ibi Uding of Sarawak National Party (Snap), former Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) supreme council member Anthony Belon and retired police officers Harrisan Lunsa and Wenceslaus Sili Dana.

Oddly enough, the five candidates were recently seen sharing the same platform during a number of public functions in Balai Ringin to express their opposition to the 'outsider' PRS candidate.

"We want this to be a friendly fight among locals," quipped one of them when met by malaysiakini .

Deep spilt in PRS

Other than having have five other candidates to contend with, Snowdon is also facing challenge from within his own party.

While Snowdon has won the recommendation to contest by the PRS supreme council, his candidacy is not necessarily certain, said a party source.

Party president Dr James Masing is believed to be in favour of fielding PRS member Lantak Amin instead.

Of late, Lantak had already been on the campaign trail with Bukit Begunan incumbent Mong Dagang and other staunch supporters of Masing.

This had infuriated the Snowdon camp, which is aligned to PRS deputy president Sng Chee Hua. They believe that Lantak's move was disrespectful to the party's 'endorsement' of Snowdon.

Killing field

According to sources, party-less Wenceslaus rates highly among the grassroots, and may well turn out to be a 'compromise candidate' to be roped into PRS should both Snowdon and Lantak be rejected.

If the present scenario continues, observers agree that anyone among the five potential candidates opposing Snowdon in the polls, who can garner between 1,800 and 2,000 votes would be guaranteed a victory with a voter turnout of around 70 percent.

Should Snowdon be pulled out of the race, observers believe that a tough contest between the five remaining candidates would resemble a "killing field".

Balai Ringin has 8,430 registered voters with seven polling districts. More than half of Balai Ringin has been carved out of the adjoining Bukit Begunan state constituency.