Sarawak DAP Chairman Chong Chieng Jen, in standing by his party’s decision to field Abdul Aziz Isa there, said the move was to create a new political landscape in the state.
“We need to have a multiracial lineup of the Opposition in the state assembly. And if Aziz is elected, it will shake PBB’s power base. It will also attract more young and aspiring Malay graduates into joining the Opposition.
“Many voters including the Chinese, understand the importance of the Opposition having a Malay state assemblyman.
“If you look at the lineup of other Opposition parties here, they don’t have much chance of winning,” he told reporters during a press conference at the DAP headquarters here today.
The Kota Sentosa assemblyman also showed reporters a newspaper clipping from last year, quoting Prime Minister Najib Razak as saying that if his opponents wanted him to step down, they should ask the Sarawakians how they felt about it first.
“Many Sarawakians have asked when they can give an answer (to that challenge). Well, May 7 will be the time to do so.
“The fact is, the Sarawak election is so important as it can determine the country’s destiny. This is also obvious as Najib is once again here.
“So let’s exercise the power of our votes and tell Najib he should step down. But let’s do it in a peaceful and constitutional way, through our votes.”
Chong also said there was no basis for Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem to claim that the Federal Government was allocating additional funds for the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway, as the funds were partly derived from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that Sarawakians themselves were forced to pay.
He said Najib himself had conceded that constructing the highway would have been next to impossible, had it not been for the revenue the government collected from the GST.
Aziz was fielded in Batu Kitang at the last minute after a bitter feud over seat allocations erupted between DAP and PKR. Batu Kitang will now see a five-way battle between the two partners of Pakatan Harapan, as well as Barisan Nasional and two independent candidates.