Tiong (sixth left) officiates at UPP Dudong branch’s Mid-Autumn celebration. Kuo is on fifth left.
SIBU: Dudong assemblyman Datuk Tiong Thai King is grooming several potential candidates for the coming parliamentary election as he is not eyeing to contest in the Lanang Parliamentary seat.
Tiong, who is former Lanang MP, hinted that the potential candidates were well qualified. He, however, declined to reveal how many or whom he was grooming.
“Yes, I am grooming them up,” he told reporters after the United People’s Party (UPP) Dudong branch’s mid-autumn celebration here on Thursday night.
Asked on how he assessed these potential candidates, he said: “They are all very good – that is all I can say.”
On whether he was confident of wresting Lanang seat from the opposition if the potential candidate was fielded, he said they would try their best.
“I can’t say that (wresting back), but we will do our best.”
Tiong, who is Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman, affirmed that he had no intention of contesting in Lanang constituency comes the next general election due to age factor.
“I am too old already – my age nearly 70 plus – too old,” he chuckled when asked if he would stand in Lanang constituency in the coming parliamentary election.
In the 13th general election in 2013, Tiong lost the Lanang parliamentary seat to Alice Lau of the DAP.
Lau garnered 26,613 votes against Tiong, who polled 17,983 in a straight fight.
Asked on his take for the coming general election, Tiong believed it would be a tough fight where the opposition would harp on certain issues to up their mileage.
He stressed on the importance of making the neccessary preparations to face the general election.
Prior to the state election, Tiong, who is also UPP Dudong branch chairman, had stated this was his last term should he got elected.
In the 2011 state election, he narrowly lost to DAP’s Yap Hoi Liong by merely 317 votes.
But in the just concluded state election, Tiong, who stood as a direct BN candidate for Dudong, wrested the seat and won by a majority of 2,146 votes. He garnered 9,700 votes against closest candidate DAP’s Yap Hoi Liong who polled 7,554 votes.
Independent candidate Dato Sri Dr Benny Lee chalked up 3,288 votes while another Independent Casper Kayong Umping only managed 228 votes. Mary Ting Yiik Hong of STAR garnered 152 votes.
Voter turn-out was 73 per cent. There were 219 spoilt votes.
Dudong has 29,028 registered voters.
Meanwhile, in his speech earlier, Tiong said the celebration was a good platform for fellowship and strengthening of members’ bonding.
The UPP Dudong branch had received 1,000 membership cards from their party central in Kuching. The branch has more than 4,000 members currently.
Among those present was UPP Dudong branch secretary Oliver Kuo.