By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Nov 2: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) will be contesting seven parliamentary seats in Sarawak in the 15th General Election (GE15) with three of the seats are in rural areas namely Mas Gading, Puncak Borneo and Kanowit.
Having teamed up with Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak (PDBS), PBK president Voon Lee Shan said under the alliance, all six candidates will contest under the PSB logo, except for Mas Gading.
He confirmed that social activist and businessman Ryan Sim Min Leong, 42, has been fielded for Mas Gading, while oil and gas operation manager Tomson Ango will take on Puncak Borneo, while Sukarno Layau will contest in Kanowit.
PBK secretary-general Priscilla Lau will stand in Lanang and businessman Leighton Manjah will stand in Bintulu.
The two urban seats of Bandar Kuching and Stampin have yet to be finalised between Voon himself and party member Lue Cheng Hing.
All watikah (writs) from PSB have been issued to all candidates.
Voon emphasised that the party will not waver from its mission and goal to restore Sarawak rights, including oil and gas as well as territorial and seas issues.
“So send us or at least me into Parliament. We will speak in Parliament for the rights of the people in Sarawak.
“We also want to speak against the Malayanisation of the civil service, marginalisation of our people and some finance matters,” he said in a press conference to present watikah to the candidates at his legal firm in Saradise here.
Voon added that the biggest hurdle Sarawak faced is that it has not been recognised as a country and partner in the Federation of Malaysia.
“It is three countries that formed the Federation. We cannot say we are ‘wilayah’ (region), We are a country.
“To be restored as a country, Sarawak must be returned to its original position before Malaysia was formed,” he said, insisting that the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) was null and void at the time of signing and the agreement can be revoked due to the many breaches.
Touching on its alliance with PSB and PBDS, Voon said this is to ensure better chance at victory with no clash in seats contested.
“It does not mean we will be absorbed into PSB, we are independent except we use their (PSB) logo to contest in this parliamentary election, except for Mas Gading so as to not create confusion as the candidate has been campaigning for years using the PBK logo,” he said. — DayakDaily
