KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — The Sarawak state government’s ban against several DAP leaders from entering the state will not hamper their campaign for the state election as the party’s bigwigs no longer play such a pivotal role.

Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong said federal leaders such as MPs Tony Pua and Teresa Kok only play a small role compared to the local grassroots leaders who carry the most weight in campaigning this time around.

“They’re thinking we’ll play the same game as last election but that’s not true.

“The campaign this year is more localised, more rooted. Not just in urban, Chinese areas but also in the many rural areas,” he said during the Save Malaysia signature drive at the Kampung Baru Salak Selatan morning market today.

He added that DAP Sarawak is now very much a “Dayak party” due to the many Sarawak natives who are part of the campaigning, some of whom will also be contesting in several rural seats.

“It’s not the first day starting [sic] campaign, we have candidates on the ground who have been working there a while, most of whom are Dayak.

“They’ve been working on their campaign for a year, a year and a half; we not just starting things now. It’s a very different ballgame than the 2011 elections,” he added.

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok added she was confident that the entry bans will not affect the party’s chances in the elections as they have been laying the groundwork since 2013, including community development programmes Impian Sarawak and Impian Sabah.

“In their lives, they have only seen the Barisan Nasional logo but now we see people wearing the DAP T-shirt and the Rocket caps. They’re not fearful anymore,” Kok said, referring to Sarawak voters.

Liew was the latest opposition lawmaker to be denied entry into Sarawak just days shy of the Sarawak election campaign period.

He joins a list of other opposition leaders which include DAP’s Anthony Loke, Teresa Kok, Tony Pua, Teo Nie Ching, PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar, Chua Tian Chang, Shamsul Iskandar, Zuraida Kamaruddin, Sim Sze Tsin and Parti Amanah Negara’s Mohamad Sabu.

Despite criticism over the travel ban on opposition leaders, Adenan recently insisted that the ban was justified as it was to protect Sarawak from unsavoury elements and it would be lifted after the state elections slated for May 7.