Chin asked to confirm his candidate for Sibu

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Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh

Daniel Ngieng

SIBU: SUPP president Datuk Seri Peter Chin has been urged to come up with a declaration or statement confirming that Datuk Seri Dr Benny Lee is his nominated candidate to defend Sibu seat for BN-SUPP in the coming 13th general election.

SUPP Sibu branch chairman Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said this when reacting to a news report carried by a national English daily recently that said Lee, an educationalist, claimed that his name was with Chin.

The newspaper also quoted a source as saying Chin’s choice was one of the leading educationalists with many qualifications under his belt in the central region, who should interest Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“Peter Chin should come up with a statement or declaration certifying that Dr Benny Lee is his nominated candidate.

“In other words, how the news came up and not just hearsay,” Wong, who is also Second Finance Minister and Minister of Local Government and Community Development told The Borneo Post when contacted over the telephone yesterday.

The senior minister stressed: “As far as we are concerned, SUPP Sibu branch has unanimously recommended Temenggong Vincent Lau Lee Ming to stand in Sibu parliamentary seat.”

Wong’s view was strongly backed by a vice chairman of the party Daniel Ngieng, who said they had recommended only one candidate for the constituency.

“As far as SUPP Sibu branch is concerned, there is only one candidate. And Temenggong Vincent Lau is a winnable candidate,” Ngieng stated.

Meanwhile, SUPP Sibu branch Bumiputera unit head Andrew Shilling said Wong was the only person entrusted to decide whom to recommend as candidates to contest the Sibu and Lanang parliamentary constituencies.

“As far as Sibu branch is concerned, recommendations by any other person besides Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh will be considered not valid,” said Shilling, who is a political secretary to the chief minister.

He added that during a recent meeting, SUPP Sibu branch had unanimously recommended Lau and the incumbent for Lanang constituency Datuk Tiong Thai King to represent BN in the coming election.

“As such, anything else is mere speculation from the way I look at it,” he added.

Meanwhile, when asked to confirm whether he was Chin’s choice, Dr Lee responded: “I will leave it to the PM to decide on my candidacy.”

He added that he had no other comment except that he was an ordinary citizen doing his level best to serve the community.

On Mar 10, SUPP Sibu branch unanimously recommended Lau and Tiong to represent BN in the coming election, expected to be held soon.

At that press conference, Wong reportedly said they had to pick winnable candidates, saying it was a unanimous decision, even with full support from the Bumiputera community.

He also expressed confidence that Lau could win.