Julau likely to see Salang-Larry Sng duel

Larry Sng is contesting as an independent and as a Chinese in an Iban-majority constituency long known as a BN stronghold.

Former PRS state assemblyman for Pelagus, Larry Sng, is going up against four-term incumbent Joseph Salang Gandum.

JULAU: A big battle is quietly shaping up in the Julau parliamentary seat where a young Chinese contender from faraway Kapit is intent on recapturing the Iban-majority seat vacated by his dad in the 1999 election.

If indications on the ground are real, Julau will see a straight fight between Barisan Nasional (BN) and the contender, who chooses to be an independent after his intention to be the BN candidate failed.

Four-term incumbent Joseph Salang Gandum, 68, who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) secretary-general, and whose name has been proposed by his party to defend the seat, is set to cross swords with maverick politician Larry Sng Wei Shien, 39.

Larry was former PRS state assemblyman for Pelagus (Kapit) and a former assistant minister of youth (training) in the then chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s administration.

Larry was sacked from PRS, a party his father, Sng Chee Hua, had helped to form in 2007, due to insubordination.

He formed his own party, the Sarawak Workers Party (SWP), to contest against a PRS candidate in the Lubok Antu (Sri Aman) seat in the last state election, but was not successful. He then left the party.

His father was a one-term Julau MP from 1995 to 1999 before Putrajaya wanted him to make way for Salang.

Larry may be all fired up in his quest, but he has certainly many tall mountains to climb.

“What he is basically trying to do is to dislodge Salang. It will be tough for him as, firstly, he is an outsider — an issue which even Salang, whose forefathers were from Bayong in Ulu Sarikei and which is part of the constituency, has to grapple with at every election.

“Secondly, he is contesting as an independent and as a Chinese in an Iban-majority constituency long known as a BN stronghold.“Thirdly, Salang is a big name now as PRS secretary-general, chairman of the 1Malaysia Sarawak Advisory Council and president of the Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” said PRS Meluan branch deputy chairman Minggang Jungai, who is also a longhouse chief

Another factor Larry would have to deal with, he said, was his father’s baggage of unfulfilled promises when he was its MP.

According to another longhouse chief, Tuai Rumah Micheal Jantan from Nanga Baketan, the elder Sng too is well remembered for his derogatory remarks about how easily Iban votes could be had.

“We are still hurt by his careless remarks. Maybe we should now turn the tables on his son and show him how expensive it will be to get our votes,” he told Bernama here.

Julau has 24,936 registered voters and comprises the state seats of Meluan and Pakan, both won by BN representatives. It is roughly the size of the peninsular Malaysia states of Melaka and Perlis put together.

Like many Sarawak rural constituencies, folks deep in the interior still rely on the river to move around, but come the weekends, parking space is a giant headache in both Julau and Pakan towns as folks with good road access jam the towns with their Toyota Hilux and the Proton and Japanese marquee.

Pepper and oil palm and vegetable cultivation are the mainstay of the economy of the locals.

Salang, a banker before joining politics, has been largely credited with inspiring the folks.

He has the biggest individually-owned pepper garden in the whole of Sarikei, the state’s top pepper-producing area.

Julau will be one of those interesting constituencies to watch this election.

Can Larry, without the support of the influential Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the Progressive Democratic Party and the Sarawak United People’s Party, claim the seat which once belonged to his father?

“The Sngs have long been known to splurge in their previous election campaigns.

“Larry is rumoured to have the support of a certain politician and his group is hostile to Salang and his supporters,” said PRS Pakan branch deputy chairman Jantan Uchong.

“Their workers are dangling the monetary carrots before the voters. Larry’s campaigners have declared they are all out to ensure a win for him. We are watching them closely,” he said.

When Salang hosted a dinner for longhouse chiefs attending a leadership seminar in Sarikei over the weekened, Larry’s group had another dinner at a separate hotel with him as the guest of honour.

Another barbeque dinner was simultaneously held in Pakan. Both were intended to minimise attendance at Salang’s function.

However, Salang’s 61-table dinner at a double-storey restaurant was packed. Salang’s many loyalists among the 530 longhouse chiefs are now up in arms to keep their prized “Manok Sabong” (fighting cock).

According to Micheal Jantan, there is little doubt that Salang would deliver again his seat.

“He is quite a perfectionist and will want to again win with another huge majority,” he said.

In the last election, where Salang squared off against Wong Judat of SWP and Andy Wong of PKR, Salang won with a majority of 5,955 votes from a turnout of 16,677 voters. -FMT