Adenan Satem's passing on Wednesday afternoon was an unexpected blow to Sarawak, leaving many to wonder how the state and its BN components will fare without him.

The biggest vacuum left by his death appears to be strong leadership.

"We're not sure who can replace him. I don't think anybody has that kind of aura or attribute as a strong leader," Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UK) based pundit Faisal Hazis told Malaysiakini.

Adenan was made chief minister in 2014, and since then had initiated efforts to gain some form of administrative autonomy from the federal government.

He had also often made remarks and policies lauded by Sarawakians, but ran contrary to the official stand in Putrajaya.

Following his death, his daring was attributed to the fact that he knew he had little time left, and thus had little to lose.

"He knew that he would probably be a short-term chief minister - as what had been proven - so he wanted to leave a long legacy," Faisal said.

Adenan had also managed to keep a fragmented Sarawak BN united, especially during the state elections last year, leading them to a sweeping victory at the polls.

But despite the loss of his leadership, it appears that Sarawak BN and whoever succeeds Adenan will be fine - at least for now.

Early polls scuttled?

Going forward into the general elections, however, is a whole different ball game.

Penang Institute fellow Wong Chin Huat said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will want to wait for Sarawak to stabilize before dissolving Parliament.

"If he called for a general election without waiting for the new chief minister to get things under control, he might lose more parliamentary seats compared to the last general election.

"If Najib’s initial plan was to call for a general election in the middle of this year or earlier, Adenan's passing might delay his plan," Wong said.

However, Faisal noted that historically, Sarawakians - especially those in urban areas - have voted differently for state and parliament elections.

He said that urban Chinese voters had in the past voted for the opposition at the state level, and then vote BN in the parliamentary stage.

"Because of national issues such as the Goods and Services Tax, 1MDB and so on they might vote in reverse (vote opposition at parliament), but I don't see it happening in big numbers," the UKM lecturer said.

Additional reporting by Lee Long Hui.