State BN election director Abang Johari says the
outcome for both urban Chinese-majority seats had been in doubt until
the last minute.
KUCHING: In the run-up to the recent Sarawak election, the state
Barisan Nasional (BN) was not certain it could clinch victory in Batu
Kawah and Batu Kitang, two important Chinese-majority seats in Kuching,
Abang Johari Abang Openg said.
Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president Dr Sim Kui Hian (Batu
Kawah) and Padawan Municipal Council chairman Lo Khere Chiang (Batu
Kitang) won the two urban seats.
At an appreciation dinner for Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB)’s
campaign workers last night, the deputy chief minister spoke of an
overture made by Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem to BN members at
the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) in early April prior to the
election.
“Tok Nan and all the rest of us gathered at BCCK. Tok Nan had said
that in Batu Kitang, we have more or less 40 per cent Bumiputera voters.
“In Batu Kawah, we have more or less 39 per cent Bumiputera voters.
And the Bumiputera voters will determine the outcome of the election in
Batu Kawah and Batu Kitang,” said Abang Johari, who was also the state
BN’s election director during the campaign.
“The worst (of the seats contested) was Batu Kawah and Batu Kitang.
Up until election day, we were still wondering whether we would win or
lose,” he said.
“These
seats are important because contesting in Batu Kawah was the SUPP
president. We in PBB want SUPP president Dr Sim to win, and we achieved
our target. And we also wanted to secure the victory for our comrade
Lo,” he added.
Batu Kawah was one of seven seats that SUPP won in the May 7 state election.
Prior to the election, SUPP had control over only two seats. A defeat at Batu Kawah could have ended Sim’s political career.
Meanwhile, of the 11 new seats created in a redelineation exercise by
the Election Commission last year, Batu Kitang was the only urban-based
seat, carved out of DAP-controlled Batu Kawah and Kota Sentosa.
Abang Johari also said the outcome for Repok and Meradong, both state
seats in the Sarikei division, were less than certain. Bumiputera
voters constitute 40 per cent of Repok and nearly half of Meradong.
SUPP wrested control of both state seats from DAP in the election.
“As the election director, I thought we might deliver between 68 to
70 seats. But we won Batu Kawah and Batu Kitang, which increased our
tally to 72 seats. PBB itself saw a clean sweep victory, winning all 40
seats,” Abang Johari said to applause.
“This
is the victory that we enjoy when we work hard. The rakyat supports Tok
Nan’s people-centric policies, So much so that even the Chinese
community shifted their allegiance to BN.
“At the very least, we have reduced the majority in the seats lost to
DAP. Ultimately, Tok Nan received a mandate in this election,” he said.
Abang Johari also spoke of being shaken by news of the helicopter
crash on May 5, which took the life of deputy plantation industries and
commodities minister Noriah Kasnon and five others.
Having taken a similar flight path of the ill-fated helicopter on the
same day, Abang Johari said he had not experienced any weather
difficulties.
“It was a thirty-five minute difference. We never know when life will end. Maybe, it could have been my helicopter,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lo, who was present at the dinner, told the audience that
Sarawak BN must begin working towards victory for the coming general
election.
He said SUPP needed support to achieve victory in Stampin, a
parliamentary constituency that covers the state constituencies of Kota
Sentosa, Batu Kitang and Batu Kawah.
The Kota Sentosa assemblyman is state DAP leader Chong Chieng Jen.
“I know the election is just over. I know it is not fair to ask for
your support again during this thank you dinner, but I’m pleading with
all of you, let’s make this possible,” the new Batu Kitang assemblyman
said.
“For the sake of Sarawak, we must win Stampin. For the future of
Sarawak, for the wealth of Sarawak. Only when we are strong as a state,
will the West Malaysians not step on us. If we are weak, they find us
contemptible and push us around. We must unite,” he added.
The next general election must be called by June 24, 2018.
May 21, 2016
FMT News
The
Ministry of Local Government Senator Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian has proposed
to amend the laws of Municipal Council (MPP) to enable it to employ
traffic wardens in the future.
砂人联党巴都吉当区州议员兼巴达旺市议会主席罗克强于今早前往7哩老港下，慰问日前遭遇火灾的一户华裔灾黎。
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