Guan Eng goes for ‘kampua mee’ again before leaving for Penang

0

SIBU: It was kampua noodles again for DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister  Lim Guan Eng before he went back to Penang yesterday.

THANK YOU: Lim shakes hands with a trader before he returns to Penang. From left are DAP publicity chief David Wong and DAP woman chief Alice Lau.

THANK YOU: Lim shakes hands with a trader before he returns to Penang. From left are DAP publicity chief David Wong and DAP woman chief Alice Lau.

Lim rose early to visit Sungei Merah, a small town about a 10-minute ride from Sibu, to thank the voters for DAP’s victory in the just-concluded Sibu by-election.

He said the newly-elected parliamentarian Wong Ho Leng was in Kuching yesterday for the Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Assembly) sitting, and before   the latter  had time to visit the people, “I want to thank them on his behalf”.

The Penang chief minister was warmly received as he went around.

As he met the people, they congratulated Lim for DAP’s victory, and Lim in turn thanked them for their mandate.

Lim then went to ‘Choon Seng Coffee Shop’ for the Foochow noodles.

Lim said he loved Sibu kampua and would go for it every time he visited here.

Speaking to reporters in the coffee shop, the same eatery that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak visited before the by-election, Lim confirmed the deciding factor in the Sibu by-election had come from the Chinese. He said the support from them had ballooned to 68 per cent.

“In 2008, when Ho Leng  met the late Datuk Robert Lau in Sibu election, DAP obtained 58 per cent.”

He said the support from the Iban community had dropped by four per cent, but the support from the Malay-Melanau communities had increased by three per cent.

“The Sibu by-election is a victory of Sibu people. They have voted for change and good governance.”

He said the people had also said ‘No’ to corruption, abuse of power and cronyism.

On fund allocations, he said the people wanted a systematic method rather than one that played on the emotions of voters.

“The victory in Sibu by-election is significant to the Pakatan Rakyat coalition as we gear up for the next state election.”

Lim had earlier admitted that the Sibu by-election was a tough battle. He said then, “It will be a miracle to win, but we believe in miracles.”

Lim yesterday said: “The people have created this miracle for Sibu.”