SIBU: State Barisan Nasional (BN) parties have been advised by the Chief Minister not to ‘jump the gun’ on seats to be contested in the coming state election.
State BN secretary-general Datuk Dr Stephen Rundi stated this yesterday when asked if Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party’s (SPDP) keenness to field a candidate in Bawang Assan and Dudong could possibly derail Sarawak BN’s formula to resolve the impasse between SUPP, UPP, SPDP and Teras in the event only 71 seats are contested in the 11th state election.
“Well, we leave the matter to the CM (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem) as chairman of BN Sarawak to decide. And as advised by CM, we should not ‘jump the gun’.
“Instead, they (state BN component parties) should be united in fighting a common opponent to ensure BN win more seats and with bigger margin this coming state election,” Dr Rundi, who is also Assistant Minister of Public Utilities (Electricity and Telecommunications), told The Borneo Post.
According to media reports, SPDP central region vice chairman Teo Boon Siew told a gathering at Rumah Anthony Philip in Bawang Assan recently that the party might field his chairman Datuk Lau Cheng Kiong in Bawang Assan.
Teo, however, was quick to point out that the final decision rested with the Chief Minister, who is state BN chairman.
Teo was further quoted to have said that SPDP was also interested to contest in Dudong but yet to identify a potential candidate.
In February this year, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Bukit Assek branch chairman Chieng Buong Toon was reported to have said they already had a candidate for Bawang Assan state constituency in the coming state election.
Chieng, however, stopped short of naming the Sibu by-election BN candidate Robert Lau as their likely candidate for Bawang Assan, as widely speculated in Sibu by political pundits.
According to Chieng, four seats in Sibu had been traditionally allocated to SUPP – Dudong, Bukit Assek, Bawang Assan and Pelawan – for which they would not compromise.
Elsewhere in the opposition camp, Democratic Action Party (DAP) said it will contest in at least 30 seats in the coming state election due by June next year.
During his Chinese New Year open house this year, state DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen said the 30 seats excluded the 11 proposed new seats.
In Sibu, under its ‘Impian Sarawak’, DAP had initiated three projects in Bawang Assan, namely health camp, building of a jetty and installing solar lighting.
Political pundits see this as an attempt to establish a support base among the rural folk there.
PKR, on the other hand, will likely stay away from Bawang Assan if its Sibu branch chief Abdul Raafidin Majidi’s statement is anything to go by.
Abdul Raafidin reportedly said the party would put up a candidate in Nangka this coming state election to wrest the seat from BN but would probably not contest other seats under Sibu parliamentary constituency like Bawang Assan and Pelawan to give way to DAP.
In the last state election, BN staunch supporters in Bawang Assan gave their candidate Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh a strong mandate, sending DAP’s Alice Lau packing.-Borneo Post
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