‘Runaway’ PH chief Chong earns a ‘good riddance’ jibe

 

Chong Ching Ren said state DAP chief Chong Chieng Jien has been mediocre at best over the years.

KUCHING: Several voters in Kota Sentosa have expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of Chong Chieng Jen, their assemblyman of 15 years, and cite the lack of change in the constituency over the years.

Chong, who heads Sarawak Pakatan Harapan and Sarawak DAP, is now contesting for the Padungan seat, which is also deemed a DAP stronghold.

The Gabungan Parti Sarawak candidate in Kota Sentosa, Wilfred Yap Yau Sin, accused Chong of “running away” as he failed to serve the people well, especially when he was a federal deputy minister for 22 months.

Several local residents in Kota Sentosa seemed to share Yap’s sentiments.

Alicia Chew, 36, said Chong was seemingly never on the ground to take care of his constituency, adding that she did not know what he had contributed to Kota Sentosa over the past 15 years.

“Good riddance,” she said, adding that it would be better for someone else to look after the area.

Chew said she would not be casting her ballot for parties, but would vote based on the individual candidates.

Another resident, Chong Ching Ren, said the state DAP chief had been mediocre at best, acknowledging that there were both good and bad in the DAP man’s performance over the years.

Ching Ren, who is 20, has just missed out on voting in this state election. He said the former assemblyman had been very promising but “not that good” when it came to execution.

“I know some people are quite unhappy with him. I’ve heard a lot of people even from the Chinese community complaining,” he said, adding that what Kota Sentosa folks wanted to see was change.

However, he acknowledged that a new face did not necessarily mean change, saying what they needed was an assemblyman who could execute their plans properly and on schedule.

Mohd Sani said nothing much has changed in Kota Sentosa in the past five years, even when Chong was a deputy minister.

Mohd Sani, 41, said nothing much has changed in Kota Sentosa over the past five years, quipping that problematic roads would only be fixed when it was close to election time.

“For me, if a new leader comes in then we might have some changes. The younger, the better. That’s what we’re hoping for. As long as they can lead well and help people. The party isn’t important,” he said.

However, some still defended Chieng Jen, saying he could not do much when he spent most of his years in the opposition.

“What’s he supposed to do? At least he spoke out about problems in his constituency rather than remain quiet,” said John T.

John, who is 56, said Chieng Jen had already proven himself having been an assemblyman since 2006.

Political analyst Awang Azman Pawi, of Universiti Malaya, said Chieng Jen would probably still win in Kota Sentosa if he had opted to defend the seat. However, a victory with a smaller majority would be testament of the decline in the DAP leader’s reputation in the constituency, having represented the seat for three terms.

He predicted that Chieng Jien would win the Padungan seat, adding that this would give him a chance to improve his reputation among Sarawakians. - FMT