KUCHING, Jan 10 — Sarawak PKR has identified all the potential candidates to contest in the 47 seats allocated to it under an agreement with DAP and Amanah, its two Pakatan Harapan (PH) partners.
State PKR secretary Joshua Jabeng added that its potential candidates have already started their work, traversing the constituencies and meeting up with voters.
“Most of the seats have one potential candidate while the other seats have several names.
“In the case of Ba’Kelalan, we have only one potential candidate to face incumbent Baru Bian, but we have a few names to contest in Batu Lintang to face the incumbent See Chee How,” he said.
He said one of the potential candidates for Batu Lintang is Cherishe Ng who is its Sarawak PKR women’s wing secretary; she is also the daughter of Bandar Kuching PKR chairman Dominique Ng Kim Ho, adding that the latter will not be contesting in the next elections.
Jabeng said at least 30 per cent of the state PKR candidates will be women in line with the national party’s policy.
Asked on the chances of the party in the state election, Jabeng said he would rather let the people decide.
Dominique, who was also present at the press conference, said the party has been weakened by the exit of several elected representatives, naming former state chief Baru, See, Saratok MP Ali Biju, and Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin early last year.
“But this does not mean that PKR is gone in Sarawak. It only makes us more determined to come back, especially in the seats that the party won in the 2016 state election,” he said.
“The state PKR is weakened, no doubt, but we will rise again from this debacle. These leaders, who left or were sacked from the party, not only betrayed the party but have caused the downfall of the Pakatan Harapan federal government,” the former Padungan assemblyman said.
