Taib to defend Balingian seat

Taib Mahmud, the longest-serving chief minister, confirms he will contest again in his constituency in the April 16 polls.

MUKAH: Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud confirmed today that he will defend his Balingian seat in the state election.

“That is why I am here,” he said when approached by reporters during a visit to the PBB Balingian service centre.

Taib, who is state Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman and PBB president, said the party would field about 25% new faces.

He added that the state BN was at the same time finalising its list of candidates.

“Once we are done, I will meet the Prime Minister (Najib Tun Razak) for his endorsement, maybe on April 1 or 2,” he said.

On the possibility of BN fielding more women candidates, Taib said the coalition earlier had four to five individuals in mind.

“But they declined due to family commitment, career consideration and other factors,” he said.

Asked about incumbents who had stated their intention not to seek re-nomination, Taib said that this was a “positive, democratic sign” but “of course no one can stay there forever”.

Meanwhile in KUCHING, Taib said the Sarawak BN will put up a young and educated candidate to wrest back the hot seat of Padungan, one of four Kuching-based seats lost to the opposition, in the April 16 state election.

He said the state coalition had finalised the “winnable” candidate to win back the seat which was once a stronghold of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP).

However, Sarawak BN would only reveal the candidate’s identity after PKR, the party which won the seat in the May 2006 state election, announced its candidate, he said.

Taib, who is also state BN chairman, was speaking to reporters after opening the Kuching South division’s Sejiwa Senada programme today.

In the 2006 state election, the predominantly Chinese urban seat was won by Dominique Ng (PKR), with a 1,033-majority vote, after garnering 8,002 votes.

SUPP’s incumbent Lily Yong only bagged 6,585 votes.

Speculation is rife that Kuching SUPP branch member Sim Kiang Chiok might be announced as Padungan’s BN candidate on April 5, the eve of nomination day.

He is also Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda) secretary-general.

Meanwhile, a local newspaper today reported that Kuching folks expressed support for Sim as BN candidate for Padungan, one of eight seats in Sarawak which SUPP lost in the last state election. SUPP had contested in 19 seats.

-Bernama