Baru Bian to defend Ba Kelalan seat under PSB ticket
KUCHING: Incumbent Baru Bian has confirmed he will be defending Ba Kelalan seat under the Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) ticket in the upcoming 12th Sarawak election.
Baru said he had always been on the ground to serve the people as a lawyer looking into land issues even before he was elected as a people’s representative.
“I have set up my service centre in Lawas even before I was elected as an assemblyman.
“My centre has always been there and in that sense, we are always on the ground and we are prepared at any time,” he told reporters after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Lawas Highland Estate Coffee Sdn Bhd and Earthlings Coffee Workshop Sdn Bhd at Earthlings Coffee Workshop flagship store at Jalan Wan Alwi here yesterday.
Baru failed to win the Ba Kelalan seat in the 2004 and 2006 state elections, but won in the 2011 and 2016 elections under the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) flag.
The ‘Sheraton Move’ political upheaval in 2020 resulted in Baru leaving PKR and subsequently joining PSB as a presidential council member.
When asked whether he was confident of retaining the seat, the former PKR Sarawak chairman said he will leave it to the wisdom of the voters.
“I will leave it to the voters in Ba Kelalan and I would just like to invite them to look at my track record on what I have done for them and let them make a choice.”
Moreover, Baru said he was aware of aspiring candidates from other political parties which had expressed interest in contesting in Ba Kelalan, namely PKR, Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), as well as an independent candidate.
“Well, it looks like we have many aspiring candidates for Ba Kelalan but the more the merrier. I still believe the majority of my Lun Bawang people in Ba Kelalan will make a wise choice and I leave it to them,” said Baru.