BN and GPS failed the people – not us, says DAP rep

 

Bukit Assek politicians Irene Chang and Joseph Chieng have crossed swords.

KUCHING: A Sarawak DAP assemblyman has urged the SUPP to look at “all the mess” created by BN or GPS before accusing Pakatan Harapan of failing the people.

Irene Chang, the assembly member for Bukit Assek, said it was open knowledge that most of the issues concerning Bukit Assek involve the local government, which is under the jurisdiction of the GPS state government.

“From dilapidated houses, flooding, broken drainage and sewage system to lack of infrastructure in the area, they are all under the jurisdiction of the state government. It is therefore not right to point the finger at the PH government for failing to do what the GPS state government themselves should have done for the people,” she told FMT.

Chang also said if SUPP really had the heart for the people of Sibu, it had more than enough time to show and prove it by not always waiting for elections to loom near first before it came up with talk about development.

On Thursday, SUPP Bukit Assek youth chief Joseph Chieng had claimed that the people felt disappointed and cheated under the reign of the PH government which was in power from 2018 to March this year.

Chieng had also said the DAP majority in Bukit Assek had been shrinking. “This is a chance to win back the seat,” he said.

SUPP had lost the election in Bukit Assek for the past 10 years. In 2016, Chang won with a majority of 4,500 votes over Chieng and another candidate.

Chang said the SUPP had been a coalition partner of BN and GPS. “They should have the power to push on the plans to materialise without waiting to see first if people would vote for them,” she said.

Universiti Putra Malaysia analyst Jayum Jawan told FMT that it would be a challenge for SUPP to win Bukit Assek from DAP.

“SUPP’s president Dr Sim Kui Hian had been making rounds to win support for the party but his concentration has been basically confined to Kuching.

“SUPP needs a strong candidate (in Bukit Assek) and Sibu Municipal Council chairman Clarence Ting has been very highly visible in Sibu since he became the chairman of the urban council.

“However, Ting’s weakness is that he has been concentrating only in Chinese dominated areas. He has not been visible among non-Chinese areas. SUPP needs to address this.

“Bukit Assek has non-Chinese voters too. SUPP cannot ignore the non-Chinese in the Chinese majority areas,” he said. - FMT