Liu Thian Leong reinstated as PSB Batu Kawah chairman, central publicity secretary

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Liu Thian Leong

KUCHING: Former United People’s Party (UPP) member Liu Thian Leong, who stood as an independent in the last state election in Batu Kawah, is returning to active politics.

The entrepreneur said he has been reinstated as Batu Kawah branch chairman by Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) – the rebranded UPP.

“PSB reinstated me as chairman of Batu Kawah branch as well as PSB’s central publicity secretary,” said Liu when contacted today.

In 2016, Liu quit the party to run as an independent candidate in Batu Kawah.

He was defeated by Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) party president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, who won with a 2,085-vote majority in a three-cornered fight for the seat against Liu and DAP deputy president Christina Chiew.

After his defeat in Batu Kawah, Liu took a breather from politics to focus on his business.

Liu remained non-committal when asked if he was still interested in contesting in Batu Kawah.

“No final decision yet.”

Batu Kawah was among the six state seats in Kuching division that PSB has shown interest in.

The others are Batu Kitang (SUPP) and DAP-held seats of Kota Sentosa, Pending and Padungan, along with Batu Lintang (PKR).

This was announced by PSB president Wong Soon Koh at the party’s southern zone branches’ Mid-Autumn Festival dinner at a restaurant in the Crown Square Jalan Pending here on Sunday night.

“PSB will choose the most winnable candidates to contests in all the seats in Kuching, including Batu Kawah, Sentosa, Pandungan, Batu Kitang, Pending and Batu Lintang,” Wong said to the crowd of about 1,000 people.

Being independent to any coalition, PSB will shake up the political landscape of Sarawak in the upcoming state election, said the former Second Finance Minister.

Wong also urged PSB members in Kuching to be ready to face the state election as PSB intends to fight its way back into the mainstream political arena.