KUCHING: Nine new faces can be expected from the DAP in the coming state election.
Its state chairman Richard Wong Ho Leng, who is Sibu MP and Bukit Assek incumbent, said his party was fully prepared for the coming polls but more details would only be unveiled after nomination day.
“Half of the seats (18) we are going to contest in will see new faces. I cannot tell you more than that. We are all ready and now waiting for nomination day,” he said when contacted here yesterday.
Wong was also tight-lipped when asked how many operation centres the party would set up.
He merely said national leaders Lim Kit Siang and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng would be in the state during election time.
Last Saturday, Wong told a news conference that the DAP would contest 18 seats, but not in Jepak and Bengoh. Before this announcement, the party was said to be eyeing 20 seats.
In the 2006 election, DAP contested in 11 seats namely Pending, Batu Lintang, Kota Sentosa, Repok, Meradong, Bukit Assek, Dudong, Bawang Assan, Pelawan, Kidurong and Pujut. They managed to win six.
Meanhile, Sarawak National Party (SNAP) secretary-general Stanley Jugol believed his party’s candidates would not have problems with election funding although they were expected to fork out their own money.
He said the seat negotiation was still on-going but party candidates had already started working on the ground.
“It may take another day or so to settle the negotiation but our candidates are all ready,” he said.
It was recently reported that SNAP wanted 40 seats in the coming poll. Initially, the party had told reporters that it was eyeing 26 seats.
Yesterday, state PAS commissioner Adam Alid confirmed that the party had proposed to the central leadership to contest six seats, namely Beting Maro, Sebuyau, Sadong Jaya, Tupong, Senadin and Jepak.
“We will let the party central decide. We are ready to further negotiate with other PR (Pakatan Rakyat) parties. We focus on chances of winning and if others stand a higher chance, we will not insist (on having that seat).”
Adam said PR wanted to ensure that there would only be straight fights in all 71 seats.