By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, June 4: Pending can achieve the same transformation seen in Batu Kawa over the past decade if voters return Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) to power, says SUPP president Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.
Speaking at SUPP Pending branch’s 42nd anniversary dinner tonight, Dr Sim urged constituents to “choose correctly” when selecting their leaders, arguing that a constituency’s progress depends largely on the quality, integrity and capability of those elected to serve.
Drawing on his experience as Batu Kawa assemblyman since 2016, he pointed to the constituency’s development as proof of what committed leadership can deliver.
“I was very grateful for the opportunity to serve in Batu Kawa 10 years ago. You can see how we transformed Batu Kawa in 10 years.
“I want to show people that you must choose correctly. If you don’t choose correctly, you choose a leader who cheats, then cheating continues. If you choose a leader who is capable of serving, then service continues. If you choose someone who is bankrupt of ideas, then you will continue to be bankrupt of ideas,” he said.
The Deputy Premier of Sarawak as well as Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, further said he hoped residents in Pending would give SUPP the opportunity to once again serve the constituency and demonstrate what could be achieved.
“I hope that people in Pending will give us a chance to prove what they have missed for the last more than 20 years,” he added.
Dr Sim, who is also the SUPP Pending branch chairman, described Pending as a constituency that remains close to his heart, noting that the branch was founded by his late father, Datuk Amar Sim Kheng Hong.
Recalling his childhood, Dr Sim said his father frequently brought him to Pending and taught him that politics was ultimately about serving the people.
“When I was small, my father always said, ‘Go to Pending, go to Pending, go to Pending.’
“I always asked, ‘What is Pending?’ He said, ‘Go work for the people.’ It is to go and serve the people, to work for the people,” he said.
According to Dr Sim, the branch has remained relevant despite being out of power because it was built on sincerity and honesty in serving the people.
“Even though people called my father names, we served the people with honesty and sincerity. That is why the SUPP Pending branch is still around today despite not being in power in Pending.
“Because we are sincere. We serve with sincerity and honesty. We don’t cheat. We don’t lie,” he said.
He also highlighted several initiatives implemented during SUPP’s stewardship of the constituency, including a resettlement scheme that helped former squatters secure better opportunities for their families.
Dr Sim said many children from the resettlement area had gone on to become university graduates and professionals.
“Today, I am so proud of the resettlement scheme. These are people who used to be squatters. Their children, whether Dayak or Malay, can all speak Mandarin, and many of them are university graduates and professionals because they were given the opportunity,” he said.
He further cited Kenyalang Park as an example of SUPP’s development legacy, describing it as once being the model for low-cost housing in Sarawak.
However, he expressed disappointment that Pending had, in his view, lost momentum over the past two decades.
“It is very sad because over the last 20 years, there has been little progress. Now Batu Kawa is more prosperous than Pending,” he emphasised.
Dr Sim’s ties to Pending stretch back decades. His late father, Datuk Amar Sim Kheng Hong, was the founding chairman of the SUPP Pending branch and represented the area under earlier constituency configurations before retiring from politics in 1991. The Pending seat was subsequently established, with Datuk Sim Kheng Hui serving as its first assemblyman from 1991 to 2006.
Pending has been held by Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) Violet Yong Wui Wui since 2006 after she defeated Sim Kheng Hui, and she remains the incumbent assemblywoman. — DayakDaily
