By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, Oct 18: Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) will announce its candidates for the 15th General Election (GE15) on Oct 22 in Sibu and Oct 23 in Kuching.
Its chairman Chong Chieng Jen, told reporters this earlier today following the STPM Reward Giving Ceremony held at the DAP Sarawak headquarters (HQ) here.
“Our candidates are ready, and we believe that one of the most important requirements for a candidate is to serve the people not only during the election period, but also before it.
“So you can see around, those who are actively serving people on the ground, and you will know roughly who these candidates are, and there is no problem with having three or four candidates in the same area,” Chong said.
He also revealed that Sarawak DAP will be contesting in eight seats which are Bandar Kuching, Stampin, Mas Gading, Serian, Sarikei, Sibu, Lanang, and Bintulu.
“Previously there was Kapit, but I think we have some negotiations, well, from our grassroots.
“We feel that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak has a better candidate. So even our grassroots members say, all right, I think that since they have a better candidate, let them contest.
“Therefore, the working relationship between the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak parties in Sarawak is very good, and we will work together to capture as many seats as possible and bring about change,” he added.
Chong went on to say PH Sarawak will likely contest in all 31 Parliament seats.
“However, because the remaining seats are unknown, they are free to strike any deal with the other parties.
“We operate on a very flexible principle regarding the number of seats. You are free to negotiate with other parties in order to reach some agreements,” he noted.
When questioned about whether Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) was one of the other parties, Chong said that Sarawak DAP regretted PSB’s insistence on contesting in Sibu.
“The regret that we have with PSB is that they insisted on contesting in Sibu, failing which, they will contest in all the parliamentary seats held by DAP, which I believe is not logical if our target or aim is to defeat Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) or prevent United Malays National Organisation (Umno) from returning to power.
“I find it illogical that you wish to contest a seat that the opposition has already won.
“PSB insists on contesting the seat won by the opposition rather than focusing their energy, strength, and resources on the seats held by GPS, an ever-loyal supporter of Umno,” he asserted.
In addition, he noted that cooperation with PSB is extremely difficult to advance because PSB is insistent on having the Sibu seat and has threatened to fight for every seat if Sarawak DAP does not give up Sibu.
Meanwhile, there were 45 Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) recipients for the award ceremony today, 17 of whom scored STPM grades of 3.9 or higher, and the remaining recipients scored STPM grades ranging from 3.3 to 3.9. — DayakDaily
