(From left) Mura, Sylvia, Soo and Johnny in a photocall after the press conference. One of them could be the candidate, Soo said.
KUCHING: State Reform Party (STAR) will contest in Tanjong Datu by-election.
Its president Lina Soo, however declined to reveal the name of the candidate until the nomination today.
“We (party) have decided to contest in the by-election and the decision is firm…no turning back..no U-turn.
“We know the stake is high against us (to contest), but we are contesting in the spirit of democracy,” she told a press conference here, yesterday, adding there were four leading contenders for the by-election.
The party’s deputy president Mura Kadir, chairman Johnny Aput and women chief Sylvia John Gemok were also present at the press conference.
According to Soo, the ‘major part’ of the struggle to contest was the authorities’ failure to protect the native customary rights over ‘pemakai menoa’ (territorial domain) and ‘pulau galau’ (communal forest reserve), which were declared as having no force of law by the Federal Court last year.
She said the party had the deepest respect for the late Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem and appreciated his unique contribution, but urged the state government to carry out, by constitutional means, his (Adenan) initiative to restore Sarawak’s political status as one of three equal territories in the Federation of Malaysia.
She also said the election process was not a waste of taxpayers’ money, but would benefit the local economy and bring development benefits and attention to the people of Tanjong Datu.
Earlier, several opposition parties (PKR, DAP and Amanah) had announced their intention not to contest in the by-election on Feb 18.
The by-election is held following the demise of the incumbent, Adenan who was also the former chief minister.
Barisan Nasional (BN) has named Adenan’s widow, Datin Patinggi Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu, as its candidate.