Henry has no problem defending Tasik Biru — Minos

KUCHING: Tasik Biru assemblyman Dato Henry Harry Jinep has no problem defending his seat in the next state election, says political veteran Datuk Peter Minos.

Minos says among reasons for this is because the voters have greater confidence in Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to continue running the Sarawak government, instead of those from outside or those colluding with outsiders.

“The second reason is that Dato Henry has done his best as an elected representative. I see him moving around all the time and initiating many things in Tasik Biru. Third, those not with Dato Henry only appear just before election. The people are not too keen with these types of politicians.

“Those ‘fly by night’ politicians are not attractive any more, not in this present time,” he said.

Minos was commenting on news reports about Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) announcing that former deputy minister Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe would be its candidate for Tasik Biru.

Dr Tiki, the former Mas Gading MP who was a member of now-defunct Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), has kept a low profile after having left SPDP to defend his seat as an independent candidate in the 13th general election in 2013, and lost.

The announcement of Dr Tiki’s candidacy was made by PSB president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh during a party event in Kampung Bagak, Lundu on Tuesday.

At the same function, Wong also confirmed that one of its vice-presidents, Opar assemblyman Datuk Ranum Mina, would defend his seat in the next state election.

Minos said he really hoped the Opar seat would be won by a candidate from GPS, so that its constituents could be served better.

“It is not easy to service the area (Opar) if you’re not in the GPS-led government. Even if you are in PH (Pakatan Harapan)-led federal government, it’s not easy to operate in Sarawak because your bosses in Putrajaya may not be with you.

“As for PSB, it is not in GPS or PH. Should they win Opar, it’s very tough for them to service the area. Sooner or later, people will be asking for funds and projects. If you could not deliver them the projects except rhetoric, people would get disappointed and start to run away. That’s the political reality in Sarawak. It is important for the elected representative or those aspiring to be one, to be able to bring development, especially in rural areas.

“Rhetoric and promises are not attractive or wanted in Sarawak,” he added.