‘Busy’ Sim favourite to win Batu Kawah

 

The battle for Batu Kawah will see a four-cornered fight involving (from left) DAP’s Dr Kelvin Yii, Parti Bumi Kenyalang’s Chai Kueh Khun, GPS’ Dr Sim Kui Hian and Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak’s Fong Pau Teck.

KUCHING: There are murmurs among political observers and on the streets of Batu Kawah that incumbent Dr Sim Kui Hian has not been seen on the campaign trail as much as the other contestants.

It is understood that the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president is busy as a bee attending to various matters, but this may not be a factor when polling is held on Dec 18.

This time around, Sim will be defending his seat in a four-cornered battle against DAP’s Dr Kelvin Yii, Parti Bumi Kenyalang’s Chai Kueh Khun and Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak’s Fong Pau Teck.

Despite this, observers consider Sim the favourite for the seat.

For one voter, Alfred Ngui, what matters is Sim’s track record of bringing development to Batu Kawah.

The 45-year-old said Sim has done well for the constituency, and this is what matters to him.

Ngui said that in the past, he used to vote for “the party rather than the man” but this is no longer the case because of what happened after the 14th general election.

“What will affect my vote are the 22 months under Pakatan Harapan. They couldn’t deliver on the manifesto promises and this left me disappointed.

“What is certain is that I won’t back any federal opposition party again, no more DAP, enough is enough. I’m voting for GPS. Even if I want to vote for the opposition, I will vote for a local party.”

A food delivery rider, who only wanted to be known as Ng, 40, also said he would be voting for the “right candidate”.

“You can’t just vote along party lines because you can never tell if the YBs are going to jump ship. On both sides there are the good and the bad, what is important is the candidates’ character.”

Retiree Peter Crow, however, said more needs to be done for the area, especially on flood mitigation.

He also said development must benefit the people and this meant giving people the right skills to earn more money instead of mere infrastructure projects.

The 65-year-old said he hardly sees Sim, something he said is “typical” of politicians in the state.

“I see Chong Chieng Jen (Stampin MP) around more compared to Sim.”

Crow said he hopes Sim will “do more” from a policy perspective if he is elected again. - FMT