By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Nov 4: Businessman Affendi Jeman will contest as an Independent candidate for P193 Santubong in the 15th General Election (GE15).
The 59-year-old declared that he strongly supports Barisan Nasional (BN) as the coalition has contributed a lot to Sarawak’s development throughout its reign from 1973 to 2018.
“However, BN doesn’t exist in Sarawak (anymore), so I have decided to contest as an Independent candidate,” he told a press conference held at a Merdeka Palace Hotel here.
BN’s reign in Sarawak ended in 2018 following the departure of its then coalition’s strongholds — Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) — after it lost in GE14.
Affendi claimed that his candidacy in the GE15 followed the insistence of thousands of Santubong folk and didn’t involve BN itself.
However, when asked if he would join BN upon winning the seat, he answered, “I think I have clearly portrayed that I am a BN loyalist”.
He also claimed that the idea to appoint a second deputy prime minister (DPM) to represent Sabah and Sarawak was proposed by him, which later, the BN top leadership publicly agreed to do so.
“If I win in GE15 and I am able to become a representative for P193 Santubong, I will tuntut (claim) the second DPM post.
“I promise that I do not want to be a ‘Yang Berhormat’ (Honourable); I just want to be ‘Yang Berkhidmat’ (the one who serves).
“I also promise to serve my best, and I will be a loud voice in the Dewan Rakyat to fight for the rights of Sarawak,” he added.
Affendi was the former Sarawak United Malays National Organisation (Umno) sponsor chairman.
When Perikatan Nasional (PN) was formed, he joined the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Sarawak Branch.
However, he left Bersatu when the party parted ways with BN ahead of GE15.
At the press conference, Affendi declared his ‘Bawa Nikmat’ slogan, which is similar to the BN logo.
Asked about his symbol for GE15, he said it would be revealed on nomination day tomorrow (Nov 5). — DayakDaily
