SIBU, Dec 11: Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting has been told to stay apolitical in the 12th Sarawak Election.
Speaking at a press conference today, the incumbent for Pelawan, David Wong of Democratic Action Party (DAP), said that should Ting be involved in politics, he should have just resigned from his position and become an election candidate.
Wong said this as Ting had gone to the campaign office of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate for the same seat, Michael Tiang, and publicly told the people to vote for Tiang so that he could bring in development funds if he is elected.
“We all know that GPS appointed him to be the council chairman. But to come out openly to campaign (for Tiang), I think it doesn’t befit his position as an independent person.
“As he holds a position in the council, all the voters in Sibu are the ratepayers. So we are the bosses and not him; he should not come out publicly urging the voters in Pelawan to vote for any particular candidate,” said Wong.
Wong, who is Sarawak DAP deputy chief, also questioned Ting whether voters in Pelawan are paying assessment rate during the 10 years he (Wong) was the assemblyman.
“We all pay taxes, and as Sarawakians, we are entitled to the resources and oil royalty from the State coffer. So as a council chairman, he should not be involved in politics.
“And he says the council has limited financial resources, so he needs GPS wakil rakyat from Pelawan to help bring it in. This shows that he doesn’t know the basis of democracy,” said Wong.
He added that the government of the day must provide financial resources to all constituencies, and Ting should have asked for it from the State Government to perform his duty as the council chairman.
“For him to tell the people to vote for a particular candidate, I want to tell him that he is not the boss. The people are the boss,” he said.
Wong also called on the Election Commission (EC) to investigate whether money politics was involved in a Saberkas function where Tiang was seen giving out lunch boxes to the people.
“At that function, a man told Tiang that he would be voting in Bukit Assek, and Tiang urged him to vote for GPS for that seat. Is this money politics? I want the EC to investigate, and there is a video on the function,” he said. ― DayakDaily
