KUCHING: Stampin incumbent Datuk Yong Khoon Seng is willing to hold back his retirement plan if he was still needed by his constituents.
Speaking to reporters after attending the presentation of aid to the All Saints’ Church (ASC) at Tabuan here yesterday, he said that he found it difficult to turn down the many requests from the people for him to defend his seat this election.
On whether he could repeat his triumph in the past general elections, Yong said it depended on the choice of the people: “The rakyat will see the performance. If they are happy, satisfied and they still want me, I will not hesitate to serve the people again.
“This all depend on the rakyat as they are the bosses now. It is up to them to elect their representative.”
When asked whether SUPP leaders had persuaded him to contest, Yong declined to elaborate further.
He advised the public to wait for the official announcement from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak which he predicted would take place within the next three to four days.
SUPP has endorsed its Youth secretary-general Wilfred Yap for the Stampin seat after Yong announced that he wanted to retire from politics.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dato Sri Douglas Uggah Embas, who officiated at the function, said he fully supported Yong to defend his seat in the general election.
Describing Yong as a seasoned politician with vast experience in serving the people, Uggah believed that Yong would give the opposition a run for their money despite strong political gains by the opposition in urban Kuching seats in the 2011 state polls.
“There have been talks that Yong would be nominated to contest this general election. My opinion of Yong is that he is a ‘manuk tuai’ (old cockerel) and can be likened to the Belian wood which becomes harder as it grows older,” said Uggah when officiating at the presentation of
Also present at the ceremony were Reverend Nelson Sinken, the priest in charge of ASC, venerable canon Reverend Nelson Ugas and political secretary to the chief minister Sih Hua Tong.