Larry confirms eyeing Julau seat
KUCHING: Former Pelagus assemblyman Larry Sng has declared his intention to contest in Julau in the next parliamentary election (GE14) in his Facebook posting on Monday.
His father, Dato Sng Chee Hua was MP of Julau from 1995 to 1999 when he was a member of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) which was then a component party of Barisan Nasional (BN).
In the same posting he rebutted incumbent Julau MP Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum’s comment that Iban voters who are the overwhelming majority in the parliamentary seat would not want a Chinese to act as their elected representative and claims that he resorted to money politics in his previous election contests.
“I ought to rebut and clarify some points raised by Salang, particularly on race matters. My father Sng Chee Hua, served as the MP prior to Salang in 19951999. He won the seat with 86.94 per cent of voters (10,730 votes), recording the highest majority of votes ever received in the history of Julau constituency. Clearly race was not an issue then, so why is it an issue now?”
“My supporters on the ground, do not run Salang down, on the contrary, we thank him for his past services. But 18 years is a long time and people want change. Even by his own admission he has previously indicated his intention to step down before the last election. Perhaps he should consider retiring gracefully, while he still can.”
“I am also surprised that Salang would think that money politics is an issue. I do agree with him that there should be no money politics, so who is giving money here?”
On Salang’s assertion that he is not from Julau, Larry pointed out Salang is also not from the area.
“I believe that with my experience in government and my commitment to serve the people of Julau, I will be the best person to represent this area . I believe in giving assistance to the poor and needy with a focus on education. Which is why I established the Larry Sng Education Fund back in 2001,” said Larry in Facebook.
When contacted yesterday over the Facebook posting Salang said the former Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) president Larry can contest in Julau seat to exercise democratic right.
“But if Sng claimed he is contesting representing Barisan Nasional that is not true,” Salang said.
“He is not yet a member of any BN component let alone Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) from which he was expelled,” he pointed out.
On the claim by Larry that he is the best person to represent Julau because of his experience in the government, Salang said he has more experience than him.
“I have been a deputy minister for two terms. This is my fourth term as Julau MP. What type of experience has he?” Salang asked.
Salang, who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Secretary General also said that if anything, he wants an Iban from Julau to stand there but not a Chinese from Kapit.
On Larry’s suggestion that he (Salang) should retire gracefully while he still can, Salang said , “It is not for him to suggest whether I should retire. He is not PRS president. If he is PRS president maybe I will listen to him,” he added
Meanwhile, PRS president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing said Larry could not be a BN candidate anymore after he left PRS, a BN component party and formed SWP.
Masing said Larry’s father Dato Sng Chee Hua was elected by the Iban voters of Julau before they really knew him and that was why he won the seat then.
“Now that they (Iban voters) know both him and his son’s performances as elected representatives, they have their doubt, and so does PRS,” said Masing who is Deputy Chief Minister.
“And besides Julau MP seat belongs to PRS and Larry is not a PRS member. Case closed,” he said.