Local leaders back Rayong’s stand on Nyallau
LUBOK ANTU: Grassroots leaders here have stressed that Engkilili assemblyman Dr Johnichal Rayong Ngipa has the ‘ locus standi’ to talk on matters pertaining to his constituency and also that of incumbent Lubok Antu MP Datuk William Nyallau Badak.
They said this when expressing disappointment with a comment by Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Youth information chief Andy Lawrence who stressed that Rayong had no right to talk about Nyallau, who is a PRS supreme council member.
Penghulu Gerang Ancheh said Rayong has the right to talk about his constituency not only because he is the incumbent assemblyman, but also a voter in Engkilili as opposed to Andy, who hails from Kapit.
Gerang, instead, claimed that Andy had no reason to talk for Barisan Nasional ( BN) as he had fought against the BN when supporting his former party, Sarawak Workers Party ( SWP), and its president Larry Sng who had contested and lost against Nyallau in Lubok Antu during the last general election.
In the 2013 parliamentary polls, Nyallau garnered 8,278 votes against Sng (4,187) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) Nicholas Bawin Anggat (2,530).
“When Andy was opposing BN in 2013, our YB ( elected representative) Dr Jonichal Rayong Ngipa was the election campaign manager in Engkilili appointed by YB Datuk William Nyallau, and YB ( Rayong) was instrumental in making sure that BN won in Lubok Antu in 2013 against Sng,” he said in a joint press statement with Tuai Rumah Johnson Damu and Tuai Rumah Pindi Gerang yesterday.
Johnson, who is United People’s Party ( UPP) Engkilili Youth information chief, pointed out that Rayong had worked hard during the 2013 parliamentary election to counter the sweet but empty promises made by SWP to provide life insurance to its supporters.
As one of Sng’s campaigners, Andy did not say anything good about PRS at that time but eventually snubbed SWP after the polls and defected to PRS, Johnson stressed.
Pindi, who is UPP Youth deputy chief said, said Rayong is undoubtedly a true blue BN man and, like Nyallau, has the people’s welfare at heart. Moreover, Rayong has all the right to talk about Engkilili as he is the incumbent who won handsomely in the state election last year.
“YB Rayong secured 5,513 votes out of the 7,792 total turnout of voters. His majority was 3,857 votes. So how come an outsider and former opposition member like Andy can simply say YB ( Rayong) has no locus standi?” Pindi queried.
In the numbers game, BN Engkilili voters or supporters are a force to be reckoned with and also the deciding factor in Lubok Antu, he opined, adding that Lubok Antu has more than 20,000 voters comprising about 9,450 in Batang Ai and about 10,700 in Engkilili.
“The number of UPP registered members in both state constituencies is also the deciding factor for a BN victory in Lubok Antu. Batang Ai has about 700 UPP members while Engkilili has about 4,850 UPP members,” claimed Pindi.
Andy’s comment came following a rumour that PRS had planned to drop Nyallau to pave way for a new face to contest in Lubok Antu, and also in reaction to Rayong’s expression of support for the MP.