KUCHING: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) state vice-chairman See Chee How seems to have softened his stance on the Stampin parliamentary seat, which is being claimed by both PKR and the Democratic Action Party (DAP).
When contacted via SMS yesterday he said: “The Stampin seat overlapping claim will be resolved by all parties in the organisational channels and spirit of Pakatan Rakyat (PR).”
He was commenting on DAP Sarawak vice-chairman Chong Siew Chiang’s statement that DAP would be the party contesting in Stampin for PR.
Chong also said DAP would field the party’s candidate, irrespective of whether its coalition partner PKR agreed or not.
In response, See merely said that he respected Chong.
“He (Chong) is a very senior lawyer and political leader … and I personally am always ready and willing to listen and respect his advice and comments,” said the Batu Lintang assemblyman.
This seems to contrast with See’s stance last August, when he stamped PKR’s claim over the constituency.
“We want to contest in Stampin and we believe it is time for DAP to be fair and step out of urban and Chinese zones,” he said then.
“Ours is a multiracial party and we aim for a balance of representation. DAP has been successful in projecting itself but restricted to only urban Chinese-majority seats.”
Meanwhile, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) supreme council member Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said Chong’s statement showed DAP’s greed for seats and power.
“So where is the PR spirit in DAP and PKR?” he asked when contacted.
“Now we can see that DAP is greedy for seats and power at the expense of PKR and PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia), which have had to play second fiddle to that ‘big brother’ DAP,” said Abdul Karim.
The Asajaya assemblyman urged the people not to be fooled by the DAP, as although the party claimed to fight for the rakyat, they were in actual fact only fighting for their own personal interests.