KUCHING: Hulu Rajang MP Datuk Billy Abit Joo must be gentleman enough to accept the fact that he is not the party’s nominee for the coming general election, says PRS information chief Wilson Nyabong.
He thus must accept the party’s decision and just continue to serve the people and strengthen the BN’s machinery for the coming general election.
“Instead of going around telling people that he is still winnable, he should just focus on ways to ensure the BN could win the Hulu Rajang seat.
“I am sure he has been informed by the top party leadership that he will not be nominated because a new face will be fielded,” Nyabong said yesterday.
He said he was compelled to come up with such a statement because Abit had been quoted by a local English tabloid as saying that he was still a winnable candidate.
“As far as I am concerned, I have been in the ground since the last state election. And based on feedback from the grassroots and also from reliable sources, Datuk Billy’s popularity is dipping to a very low level that the party has decided to replace him with a new blood,” he said.
Nyabong also said that party president Tan Sri Dr James Masing had also issued a statement that the party had recommended Wilson Ugak as the new candidate in the Iban majority constituency.
Ugak, according to Nyabong, was a popular grassroots leader as he had been helping both Masing and Abit in past elections.
“The party has already made its stance in as far as Hulu Rajang and the party’s five other seats are concerned. So, it is better for Datuk Billy to accept reality and assist the party instead,” Nyabong said.
He also said that as the sitting MP, Abit must continue to serve the people until the expiry of his term.
“He (Abit) has a large amount of ‘Touch Point’ fund to be used to strengthen the BN machinery in the coming election. He, therefore, must continue his service until parliament is dissolved.”
Abit, who is also a PRS vice-president, could not be reached for comment.