Unpredictable Chinese voters make Bandar Kuching tough seat — SUPP

KUCHING: SUPP Kuching branch will give its best to wrest the Bandar Kuching parliamentary constituency from the opposition in the coming general election (GE14), but concedes it faces an uphill battle due to the “high number of Chinese voters” in the area.

Branch chairperson Datuk Lily Yong, who is GE14 Bandar Kuching election committee operations director, said the difficulty in knowing the current inclination of Chinese voters meant that SUPP needs to work hard and work together.

“It will be very tough (to win) because Bandar Kuching now also includes the new Padungan state constituency after the redelineation exercise, and there is a very high number of Chinese voters in this area.

“As it is a bit difficult to predict the predilection of Chinese voters at this moment, we must therefore start early and from now onwards, all of us will go on the ground (to start our campaign). That is our commitment,” she told a press conference after officiating the operations room for Bandar Kuching parliamentary constituency and also Padungan state constituency at SUPP Kuching branch’s premises at Jalan Sungai Padungan, here yesterday.

Yong added that although Bandar Kuching has been an opposition stronghold for the past 15 years, it did not necessarily mean that SUPP’s chances of winning the seat were ‘slim-to-none’.

“There’s no guarantee for the opposition (that they will win again). There is no such thing as SUPP ‘memang kalah’ (will definitely lose).

“We are going to make their life very difficult and make it tough for them to face us. Actions speak louder than words.”

State DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen has served as Bandar Kuching MP for the past three terms.

The last time SUPP won Bandar Kuching was in the 1999 general election when Datuk Song Swee Guan defeated Chong – then a political greenhorn – and Independent candidate Dominic Ng in a three-cornered fight.

Meanwhile, Yong also disclosed that SUPP Kuching branch has submitted two names as potential candidates for the Bandar Kuching seat in the coming general election.