KUCHING, Sept 11 — Datuk Wee Hong Seng was today tight-lipped about him being one of the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party’s (SUPP) potential candidates to wrest Bandar Kuching from the opposition in the 15th General Election (GE15).
The Kuching South Mayor and SUPP Pending branch vice chairman burst into laughter when asked if he was keen to stand in the next general polls.
“We don’t even know when is the election. For the time being, I just do my duty as the mayor. We are not going to predict what is going to happen and all that.
“As far as I’m concerned, I am the mayor until end of the year. Let me finish my duty as the mayor,” he said when met by reporters at the Mayor Song Swee Guan Park in Tabuan Jaya here.
Wee said he should leave it to SUPP Pending branch chairman Datuk Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, who is also Deputy Premier and SUPP president, to make any announcement on the branch’s candidacy.
He noted that Dr Sim had recently said that every branch in SUPP’s parliamentary constituencies would nominate their respective potential candidates.
“Datuk Sri Prof Sim has mentioned that all parliamentary seats have either two or three state constituencies, that it’s only fair that every branch comes up with its own candidates.
“From there, they (top leadership) will select the winnable one. That’s how the criteria should be. Let the top people decide,” he said.
Bandar Kuching, one of the seven parliamentary constituencies allocated to SUPP, has three state seats namely Padungan, Pending and Batu Lintang.
SUPP first lost Bandar Kuching to the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in the 2004 general elections, and has not recouped the constituency since.
Meanwhile, Wee said, as the mayor, he had been trying his best to attend events, which he had been invited to.
To him, attending events meant more than just being present as he pointed out that he could get close to the community and see for himself what was happening on the ground.
“I am not a sit-down-in-office mayor, not that I like to walk around and all that, but that’s the only way to see for ourselves. Even this morning, I started my event at 6.30am to monitor and see how we can improve,” he said.
Wee said he appreciated some individuals having brought up various issues to the council for solution.
“We appreciate those who raise issues and send them through proper channel for our action. We need everyone’s co-operation on a lot of things.”
He thus hoped that the community would continue to go through the proper channel, while he pledged that the council would act as soon as possible. — Borneo Post
