BAU: Barisan Nasional will retain Mas Gading in the impending 13th general election no matter who the ruling coalition chooses as its candidate, said Assistant Minister of Community Development Datuk Peter Nansian on Friday.
He said there should not be any more confusion when polling day arrived because voters will pick BN if they wanted to see continuity in development in Bau and Lundu, which are under Mas Gading.
“The voters should give their support to the BN candidate. A victory for BN would ensure there would be more development coming to Mas Gading,” he said during a dinner to commemorate the 35th anniversary of a temple in Tondong. Mas Gading, a predominatly Bidayuh seat, has seen many political events of late after the sacking of its MP Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe and four state assemblymen from BN coalition partner SPDP in 2011.
SPDP has recommended Salcra deputy general manager Anthony Nogeh Gumbek to replace Dr Tiki in the coming polls.
However, the sacked SPDP elected representatives, through the unofficial BN Supporters Club, have been going around promoting the idea of Dr Tiki contesting as a direct BN candidate.
Nansian, who is also Tasik Biru assemblyman, often acted as the group’s spokesman.
But PBB and SUPP branches in Mas Gading have voiced their support for Nogeh.
On a related matter, Nansian also told the audience that they should not be misled by claims from the opposition that the BN was not doing enough to perk up the economy.
He said there was no truth in this because the state had progressed tremendously over the last 50 years due to policies and programmes implemented by the BN government.
“Sarawak, under the governance of the BN government, has enjoyed political stability and economic progress. The people are enjoying better facilities and becoming more affluent when compared to many years ago.”
During the function, he announced an allocation of RM3,000 to the temple for its annual activities. Also present at the function was Kapitan Liew Chiew Hian.