PDP Pakan group lobbies for education officer to be candidate in coming polls
SARIKEI: A group within Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) Pakan branch has named Selangau District Education officer Gawan Saut as their choice to defend the Pakan seat for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the 12th state election.
The group, led by Brian Fung who is a political secretary to the chief minister, made the announcement during a gathering this past Sunday at Tinting Sungai Lemba/Gerenis, Jalan Bayong, Ulu Sarikei.
“I hope the top leadership in GPS will endorse Gawan as PDP’s candidate for the Pakan seat in the upcoming election.
“As a senior government servant, Gawan is a person of high caliber, educated, and very well-versed in management and administration of governmentrelated matters,” said Fung at the gathering.
PDP Pakan vice-chairman Tuai Rumah Andrew Isup, who also spoke, expressed hope that a candidate from PDP would be picked to defend the Pakan seat, and described Gawan as “the best bet” for a GPS victory.
“Pakan seat belongs to PDP, hence the privilege to nominate a candidate should be given to us instead of the other component parties in GPS,” he asserted.
Tan Sri William Mawan is the Pakan incumbent and has held the seat since 1991, first under the now-defunct Sarawak National Party (SNAP), followed by the-then Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) in the 2006 and 2011 state polls, and then as a Barisan Nasional-direct candidate in 2016 when he was president of Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras).
Mawan is now a member of GPS backbone Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).
Meanwhile, Gawan said he is ready to take up the challenge of defending the Pakan seat for GPS if given the chance.
“I am encouraged by the support I have received from Pakan folk during my visits to their longhouses,” he said in his speech at the event.
He also claimed his candidacy has received the blessings of PDP’s top leadership, amid lobbying by another group within PDP Pakan branch for Edwin Bandang to be the party’s pick for the polls.
The Borneo Post on Aug 28 reported that four councillors from PDP Pakan – Barau Bandan, Aprit Katoh, Alexander Kassum and Kapok Ngumbang – had thrown their support behind Edwin to be PDP’s candidate for the seat.
They had described Edwin as the most suitable candidate who was well-liked by the local community, and as someone who could connect to the younger generation and bring more development to Pakan.