Senator Alan Ling
MIRI: Only the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak Select Committee has the authority to select and announce the party’s candidates for the state election, says Senator Alan Ling.
According to him, the committee comprises DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, deputy chairman David Wong and himself (Ling), as DAP Sarawak secretary.
He adds that DAP Sarawak is currently monitoring the performance and gathering feedback pertaining to the potential candidates.
“The (select committee) committee was formalised two weeks ago.
“Any decision on selecting any candidate (for Sarawak election) would ultimately be made by this committee,” he told reporters here.
In this regard, Ling pointed out that without any letter from DAP Sarawak confirming candidacy for the elections, no member would be allowed to make any announcement.
Ling believed that any decision made by the committee would be respected, and the chosen candidates would work hard to win the seats that they contest in.
“Those who are not selected should provide all necessary assistance during the campaign period to ensure that DAP Sarawak would record success in the 12th state election, and post better results that those recorded in 2016.”
Ling, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak secretary, hoped that the success of winning 12 seats in the 2011 state polls would be repeated in the next election.
“We need to win a large number of seats and then join the others (from PH) to form a state government.” In Miri, Ling said the DAP would contest in Senadin, Pujut and Piasau.
On the new norms brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, he said DAP would leverage on social media to reach out to the voters.
In this regard, he also advised everyone to be wary of the authenticity of any information, including shared videos and photos.
“I am a bit worried about the high tendency of some people to be deceived by false information.
“This is also one of the tactics used by certain quarters to confuse our voters – we need to be more careful,” he added.