BN must win big in Sarawak to influence federal government’

Bernama

 | July 16, 2017

Nancy Shukri says seats held by DAP can be won in GE14 with good working spirit among all component parties.

KUCHING: Sarawak BN can win big in the coming 14th general election (GE14) and can even wrest back seats won by the opposition in the previous general election, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri.

She opined that the good, friendly spirit among the BN component parties in Sarawak as well as sharing of strategies with each other could ensure better performance by all BN component parties in the state.

The four BN component parties in Sarawak are Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).

Nancy said it was essential for Sarawak BN to win big in the election so that its voice could be heard by the federal government leaders.

According to Nancy, SUPP was able to perform better in the last Sarawak election because there was a good working spirit among all the component parties.

Thus, Nancy was optimistic that BN could wrest back the Stampin parliamentary seat from the opposition in the coming general election if the same spirit is applied, adding that Bumiputera votes would also determine the results.

Julian Tan Kok Ping of DAP is the current MP for Stampin. He defeated BN’s seasoned politician and former deputy minister Yong Khoon Seng by 18,670 votes in the 2013 general election.

“In the last state election, there were a lot of Bumiputera votes and this was among the factors that gave victory to BN candidates, including for the Batu Kitang and Batu Kawa state seats,” she said when met by reporters at an Aidilfitri celebration organised by PBB Batu Kitang branch in Kampung Haji Baki, here, today.

The Stampin parliamentary seat is made up of Batu Kitang and Batu Kawa seats.

“There are almost 40% Bumiputera voters in the Batu Kitang constituency and 39% in Batu Kawa.

“With the right strategy and cooperation among the component parties, God willing, BN can win Stampin,” she said.

Nancy, meanwhile, said she was not aware of another woman candidate from PBB to be fielded in GE14.

“We already have good women representatives from PBB but if the party leadership feels that there is a need to have more women candidates, that will be good and I definitely welcome it.”