By Yee Mei
KUCHING, Nov 19: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) newcomer Dr Richard Rapu came out on top of a three-cornered fight in P204 Betong — successfully defending the seat with 16,479 votes in the 15th General Election (GE15).
His opponents, Patrick Kimis (PH-PKR) and Independent candidate Hasbie Satar, only managed 5,177 and 5,057 votes, respectively — giving Dr Richard a majority of 11,302.
When met by reporters, Dr Richard expressed his appreciation to his supporters and voters and said he intends to continue carrying out any development plans and programmes for the constituency.
“Our focus is to continue the development plans that have been and are being planned by the GPS government in the area, especially towards the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
“In Betong, we just got the Betong Division Development Agency (BDDA), and I will work with all three elected representatives under Betong (Saribas, Layar, and Bukit Saban) to continue these development plans,” he said.
Dr Richard, a political secretary to the Premier of Sarawak, took over from former Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Robert Lawson Chuat.
There are 41,743 registered voters in the parliamentary constituency.
In the 14th General Election (GE14), Lawson won the seat in a three-cornered battle with a majority of 8,116. He garnered 12,517 votes against Independent candidate Abang Ahmad Abang Suni (4,401) and Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Noel Changgai Bucking (3,802).
Previously, the seat was held by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embash for seven terms since 1986. — DayakDaily
