By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Dec 9: Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) candidate for N9 Padungan Lina Soo had no choice but to remove her election campaign banner erected near the Padungan White Cat Statue after it was deemed “provocative” by the Election Commission (EC).
The banner, which was surrounded by Aspirasi red flags with a butterfly logo, featured Soo’s photo at the upper corner, while the centre of the banner featured maps of Malaysia and Sarawak, with a scissor cutting a line across the middle and a message that read: ‘Sarawak Wake Up! Enough is Enough! End 58 years of suffering!’.
“This afternoon, I have been asked by enforcement officers to take down my poster because it is provocative,” she told DayakDaily today.
When asked to elaborate on the provocative element, Soo replied: “They will not tell me which is the offensive element.”
Despite that, Soo said she will follow the instructions and directive from the EC to remove the banner.
“Yes, I will have to replace it with a new one,” she added.
The Aspirasi president, who is advocating for Sarawak’s independence, is in a four-cornered fight for the Padungan seat.
She will take on Dato Wee Hong Seng of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Chong Chieng Jen of Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Raymond Thong of Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK).
The Padungan seat is held by incumbent Wong King Wei who won the seat under DAP. In the 11th Sarawak Election, he retained the seat with 9,332 votes against Pau Kiu Sung from Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) and Teo Kuang Kim from State Reform Party (STAR).
However, Wong resigned from DAP last year and has decided not to contest in the 12th Sarawak Election.
