KUCHING: Barisan Nasional (BN) will field only one candidate in every Chinese majority constituency in the next state election to prevent split in votes.
The candidates should be winnable and can be from Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) or United People’s Party (UPP) and would contest under the BN ticket, stressed state BN secretary-general Datuk Dr Stephen Rundi.
“Whatever information regarding SUPP and UPP contesting under their own party banners and not under BN banner is not correct. There is no such thing. Chief Minister (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem) will not allow that to happen.
“He will not allow any situation that will weaken the Chinese support. There should only be one candidate from state BN in the Chinese majority areas,” Dr Rundi told The Borneo Post yesterday.
He was responding to a report by a Chinese newspaper that SUPP and UPP might contest under their own respective banners as a way to solve the impasse between them.
Dr Rundi, who is also PBB secretary general, said the chief minister was still looking into the situation and had not made a decision.
“It would be premature for me to comment. Discussion will only commence when the 11 new seats are gazetted and presently, we have not reached that stage yet.”
On the impasse between SUPP and UPP, the Kemena state assemblyman said state BN would cross the bridge when it comes to it.
On the 11 new state constituencies, Dr Rundi said the proposal would be tabled on Dec 2 in the Parliament where it was expected to be passed.
“We are confident that the new seats will be passed and be gazetted by January,” said Dr Rundi.
He said state BN would only officially discuss the deadlock between SUPP and UPP after the new seats are gazetted, during which Adenan would come out with a final solution on the matter.
Meanwhile, UPP president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, when contacted, said he believed that the news report of SUPP and UPP contesting under their own party banners was likely to be wild speculation.
“To me, that was just wild guess. We will not respond any further except to say that we leave everything to the wisdom of the chief minister,” said Wong.
SUPP president Senator Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, believed to be overseas, could not be reached for comments as of press time.