Dr Wong (left) and Tian (fifth left) with others at the press conference.
SIBU: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) has staked its claim on the Dudong constituency.
SUPP Dudong assistant secretary Dr Wong Chya Wei told a press conference yesterday that the seat would always belong to the party. He said historically the seat was SUPP’s and therefore the party should not give it up easily.
“Both SUPP and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) are component parties of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), which means we are friends. By right, as friends you do not go and encroach on other people’s territory, especially when election is coming,” he said.
PDP recently announced councillor Teo Boon Siew as its candidate for Dudong and that it also intended to field candidates in Bawang Assan and Pelawan – seats traditionally contested by SUPP.
Dr Wong called on PDP to have a better way of communicating its desire to field its candidate in a constituency that traditionally belongs to SUPP. He stressed GPS component parties should respect the mutual agreement among them. SUPP Dudong Youth chief Benjamin Tian said the branch committee has unanimously decided that branch chairman Wong Ching Yong should contest in Dudong.
“Our party central was duly informed of this unanimous resolution,” he said.
Tian said the Dudong seat first appeared in Sarawak’s election history in 1970, when the late Kong Chun Shao from SUPP defeated the Sarawak Alliance candidate to become the first SUPP assemblyman for the constituency.
In 1974, Datuk Ting Ing Mieng from SUPP was defeated by Datuk Sandah Jarau of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP).
SNAP also defended the seat in the 1979 election.
“In the 1983 state election, Wilfred Kirrow, an independent candidate who was supported by SUPP defeated Joseph Tang of SNAP. Wilfred Kirrow later joined SUPP,” Tian said.
Wilfred, who later quit SUPP and joined Kumpulan Maju, was defeated by Jawan Empaling of SUPP in 1987.
“In 1990, there was a demarcation exercise of state constituencies in Sarawak by the Election Commission and Dudong became a Chinese-majority seat. In 1991, Datuk Dr Soon Choon Teck represented SUPP to contest against the late Joseph Tang of DAP (Democratic Action Party) and won with a landslide majority of 6,033 votes.
“In 1996, he won Dudong constituency uncontested. He successfully defended the seat respectively in 2001 and 2006,” Tian pointed out.
He said in 2011, Dr Soon was replaced by Datuk Tiong Thai King, who was defeated by Yap Hoi Liong of DAP. Then, in 2016, Tiong, as a Barisan Nasional direct candidate, successfully wrested the seat from Yap.
“In conclusion, from 1970 to 2016, the voters in Dudong had witnessed 11 state elections. Candidates of SUPP or related to SUPP won eight times.
“SUPP is undoubtedly a victor in the electoral history of Dudong. Therefore, conceptually, the common view of the people of Sibu is that Dudong should be contested by a candidate from SUPP Dudong branch in the next state election,” he claimed.
He urged GPS to decide on the candidate as soon as possible so that ground work could be carried out.