SUPP's Soon Koh expects rocky road ahead
Published: Apr 1, 2011 1:02 PM | Updated: Apr 1, 2011 1:32 PM
Sarawak's environment and public health minister Wong Soon Koh, 68, anticipates an exceptional and tough fight in retaining his Bawang Assan seat in the coming state election.
There is no doubt that the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) Sibu branch chairperson will be re-nominated to defend the seat for the fifth time since winning it for the first time in the 1991 state election.
S'WAK POLLS
Sarawak's health minister anticipates a tough fight in retaining his Bawang Assan seat in the coming state election.
Sarawak's environment and public health minister Wong Soon Koh, 68, anticipates an exceptional and tough fight in retaining his Bawang Assan seat in the coming state election.
There is no doubt that the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) Sibu branch chairperson will be re-nominated to defend the seat for the fifth time since winning it for the first time in the 1991 state election.
The DAP is poised to field its Sibu Women's wing chairperson Alice Lau, 30 (left) to contest in this mixed urban and suburban constituency.
Lau, who could be Wong's first lady opponent, is a pharmacist who graduated from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
It will be even tougher for him as her father Lau Cheng Kiong is a long-time pal.
He is the chairperson of the Pelawan branch of the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), a state BN component party besides being one of the town's notable business tycoons and advisor of the Sibu United Chinese Associations (UCA).
But come hell or high water, Wong is looking forward to the electoral challenge with nomination of candidates set for April 6 while polling is on April 16.
"I am hoping it will be a gentlemanly fight... no money or dirty politics and no personal attacks or unruly political culture," he said when met in Sibu recently.
Wong (right) can count on the continued solid support of his Iban and rural Chinese voters. Both groups form two-thirds of the total registered voters of over 16,844.
Susceptible to mood swings
The Iban voters from more than 100 longhouses and the Melanau folks from the Kampung Bungan Besar and Kampung Bungan Kecil in particular are his "fixed deposits". At least 80 per cent of them are his traditional voters.
The other one-third is from the urban Chinese, the more volatile group and more susceptible to mood swings.
He is also banking that the political swing favouring BN as reflected in six by-elections in the peninsula and one in Sabah last year, will have its impact locally.
The daily disenchantment with the main opposition PKR and the winning ways of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, will hopefully stack the cards in BN's favour.
Wong has prepared long and hard for the battle ahead. He is a very familiar face at the longhouses, kampung and the suburban Chinese villages of Sungai Sadit, Sungai Bidut, Engkilo, Empawah, Telok Bango and Paradom.
Bread and butter issues are largely the focus here. Native customary rights (NCR) land related issues are not, unlike in many other rural Sarawak areas.
"As far as I know, even the DAP is building up its campaigning on the need for 'Ubah' which means change in Iban.
"The DAP is trying to woo the people by harping on the need for change in the state government, the state leaders," he said.
Wong said that he was also not spared from the smearing campaign or character assassination against him.
"There are groups who allege that we get kickbacks from the implementation of government projects.
"The attacks can be unnerving at times and they test one's will power," he said.
'Motion king'
"My conscience is clear. Not all projects are directly under my control especially the federal funded ones. Others are being controlled by the state departments and agencies," he added.
If he has any notorious reputation among the opposition, it must be the label "motion king" that he is referred to in the state legislative assembly.
"I table motions to chase them out of the august house for making unsubstantiated allegations. Five opposition assemblyman so far have been suspended.
"If you only want to focus on discrediting the government, the negative publicity will chase away the much needed foreign investments and banks might not be too keen to lend money," he argued.
If there are outstanding agendas that Wong hopes to accomplish before quitting politics, it is about bringing more roads and public utilities into his constituency and resolving the flood woes faced by vegetable farmers in the area.
"I am proud that most of the longhouses are linked to Sibu and people have cars parked in front of their longhouses. The plantation roads built by oil palm companies also help a lot," he said.
He said more than 80 percent of the residents already had access to clean water and power supply. In June this year, a RM6.7 million project to enhance existing water supply facilities will be launched in his area.
One factor that gives Wong sleepless nights is his majority which has slipped to 2,504 votes in 2006 state election from the 7,096 in 2001.
In 2001, there were 17,314 registered voters with 11,920 turning out to vote while in 2006 only 11,172 out of the 16,844 registered voters (after the electoral boundary redelineation) went out to exercise their democratic rights.
- Bernama
There is no doubt that the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) Sibu branch chairperson will be re-nominated to defend the seat for the fifth time since winning it for the first time in the 1991 state election.
The DAP is poised to field its Sibu Women's wing chairperson Alice Lau, 30 (left) to contest in this mixed urban and suburban constituency.Lau, who could be Wong's first lady opponent, is a pharmacist who graduated from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
It will be even tougher for him as her father Lau Cheng Kiong is a long-time pal.
He is the chairperson of the Pelawan branch of the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), a state BN component party besides being one of the town's notable business tycoons and advisor of the Sibu United Chinese Associations (UCA).
But come hell or high water, Wong is looking forward to the electoral challenge with nomination of candidates set for April 6 while polling is on April 16.
"I am hoping it will be a gentlemanly fight... no money or dirty politics and no personal attacks or unruly political culture," he said when met in Sibu recently.Wong (right) can count on the continued solid support of his Iban and rural Chinese voters. Both groups form two-thirds of the total registered voters of over 16,844.
Susceptible to mood swings
The Iban voters from more than 100 longhouses and the Melanau folks from the Kampung Bungan Besar and Kampung Bungan Kecil in particular are his "fixed deposits". At least 80 per cent of them are his traditional voters.
The other one-third is from the urban Chinese, the more volatile group and more susceptible to mood swings.
He is also banking that the political swing favouring BN as reflected in six by-elections in the peninsula and one in Sabah last year, will have its impact locally.
The daily disenchantment with the main opposition PKR and the winning ways of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, will hopefully stack the cards in BN's favour.
Wong has prepared long and hard for the battle ahead. He is a very familiar face at the longhouses, kampung and the suburban Chinese villages of Sungai Sadit, Sungai Bidut, Engkilo, Empawah, Telok Bango and Paradom.Bread and butter issues are largely the focus here. Native customary rights (NCR) land related issues are not, unlike in many other rural Sarawak areas.
"As far as I know, even the DAP is building up its campaigning on the need for 'Ubah' which means change in Iban.
"The DAP is trying to woo the people by harping on the need for change in the state government, the state leaders," he said.
Wong said that he was also not spared from the smearing campaign or character assassination against him.
"There are groups who allege that we get kickbacks from the implementation of government projects.
"The attacks can be unnerving at times and they test one's will power," he said.
'Motion king'
"My conscience is clear. Not all projects are directly under my control especially the federal funded ones. Others are being controlled by the state departments and agencies," he added.
If he has any notorious reputation among the opposition, it must be the label "motion king" that he is referred to in the state legislative assembly.
"I table motions to chase them out of the august house for making unsubstantiated allegations. Five opposition assemblyman so far have been suspended.
"If you only want to focus on discrediting the government, the negative publicity will chase away the much needed foreign investments and banks might not be too keen to lend money," he argued.If there are outstanding agendas that Wong hopes to accomplish before quitting politics, it is about bringing more roads and public utilities into his constituency and resolving the flood woes faced by vegetable farmers in the area.
"I am proud that most of the longhouses are linked to Sibu and people have cars parked in front of their longhouses. The plantation roads built by oil palm companies also help a lot," he said.
He said more than 80 percent of the residents already had access to clean water and power supply. In June this year, a RM6.7 million project to enhance existing water supply facilities will be launched in his area.
One factor that gives Wong sleepless nights is his majority which has slipped to 2,504 votes in 2006 state election from the 7,096 in 2001.
In 2001, there were 17,314 registered voters with 11,920 turning out to vote while in 2006 only 11,172 out of the 16,844 registered voters (after the electoral boundary redelineation) went out to exercise their democratic rights.
- Bernama
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