By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Dec 23: Former Batu Lintang assemblyman Voon Lee Shan is rumoured to have joined Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) and holds the position of deputy president.
Voon, who is a lawyer, was Batu Lintang assemblyman from 2006 to 2011 under the Democratic Action Party (DAP) banner. He secured 8,805 votes to unseat Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) heavyweight Chan Seng Khai that year with a 3,406-vote majority.
However, in 2010, due to internal disputes, Voon was suspended by DAP after releasing a public statement on allegations that he had attempted to topple the then state DAP chairman, the late Bukit Assek assemblyman Wong Ho Leng.
He was also taken to task for alleging that certain leaders within the party had hatched a plot to oust him.
Voon was not fielded in the 2011 state polls after DAP swapped Batu Lintang for Padungan with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). Voon kept a low profile after that.
Recently, he seems to be very active in Sarawak rights causes. He has been seen with the Sarawak for Sarawakians movement and has issued many statements regarding Sarawak’s rights from legal and historical aspects.
PBK received the nod from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) on August 28, 2013. The party, which received its official letter of approval on Sept 2 that year, is presently headed by Yu Chin Liik.
PBK did not contest in the 2016 state election but tried its luck this year, where one of its leaders, Wong Chin King, contested in the Sarikei parliamentary constituency. Wong went up against Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Dato Sri Huang Tiong Sii and Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Wong Ling Biu but lost his deposit when he managed to secure 392 votes only.
Meanwhile, in an exclusive phone interview in October this year, Yu said PBK would contest in the next state election, which is due in 2021, in full force because the time was ripe for a “third force” to come to the fore.
He believed that Sarawakians were disappointed with the performance of PH after the May 9 general election this year. In addition, Sarawakians were also not happy with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) due to its old baggage, a legacy from the BN era.
Yu emphasised that the ultimate mission of PBK was to fight for Sarawak’s autonomy and the return of Sarawak’s status as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963. — DayakDaily
