Dr Sim addressing the crowd during a SUPP ceramah at Premier 101 commercial centre in Kuching last night.

KUCHING (Nov 14): This 15th General Election (GE15) is an opportunity for Sarawakians to elect people’s representatives who will defend the state’s interests and rights in Parliament, said Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.

Dr Sim said the country’s current political instability has provided the golden opportunity to the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition to demand for the state’s rights, particularly on autonomy over health and education matters.

“On Nov 19, we are going to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to speak out on the state’s interests and not those who prioritise national interests over the state’s,” he said during a Sarawak United Peoples’ Party’s (SUPP) ceramah at Premier 101 commercial centre here last night.

Dr Sim, who is SUPP president, reiterated that GPS will not betray the state’s interests on the election night when political parties tussle to form the next federal government.

“Sarawakians need to remember that this Nov 19 provides a golden opportunity for us after 59 years. Our focus is for Sarawak to be strong and we aim to win all 31 parliamentary seats in the coming election.”

SUPP Bandar Kuching candidate Tay Tze Kok, in his speech, said the state ruling GPS coalition want to continue its struggle to fight for autonomy over health and education matters.

“We want to win all 31 parliamentary seats so that our loud voice can be heard in the Parliament. The Opposition here has to be answerable to their bosses in Peninsular Malaysia but our GPS is only answerable to our fellow Sarawakians.”

Due to GPS’ political independence, Tay said PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had even offered to work together with GPS to form the next federal government if the national coalition wins in GE15.

Meanwhile, Stampin candidate Lo Khere Chiang voiced his confidence that GPS has a high chance of wresting Bandar Kuching and Stampin parliamentary constituencies from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in the coming election.

Lo, who is Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman, said he was grateful for the opportunity to serve in the council for the past 10 years to attend to the people’s daily issues.

“Today, the political situation is different because GPS is not aligned with Umno or any West Malaysian parties and we will solely focus on fighting for the state’s rights when in Parliament,” he added.

He cited the achievements of GPS in demanding for the rights as spelt out in the Malaysia Agreement 1963, compared with the failure of PH in fulfilling its election manifesto during its 22-month in power

https://www.theborneopost.com/2022/11/14/dr-sim-ge15-a-chance-for-swakians-to-elect-mps-who-will-prioritise-states-interests-rights/