Batu Lintang rep ready for legal action possibility

Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How who had recently left Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) to become an independent elected representative said he is prepared to face any legal action from his former party for the decision.

While hoping to continue having a good relationship with his former party and its leaders, he is not ruling out the possibility of PSB bringing the matter to the court, but added that his legal team would be ready for such an eventuality.

"I hope it (the decision to quit PSB) is (accepted by the party) but if there is any legal action later, we (will) look into that," the three-term assemblyman told a press conference at his service centre here today.

PSB president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, in a statement on Sunday, said the party would avail itself of all necessary actions and remedies against See, whom he claimed had made oral and written undertakings before being chosen as PSB's candidate in the last state election.

According to Wong, See also had to compensate the party if he chose to resign after winning the seat as a PSB candidate.

See's resignation from PSB to become an independent assemblyman was announced earlier on Sunday by Sarawak Assembly Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nasar.

See said his decision to leave PSB was just to free himself from party politics to concentrate more time on his works as an assemblyman and to work with others who shared his mission for the betterment of Sarawak and its people.

"In the near future, I try not to be involved in party politics, maintain my independence working with the NGOs, working with different groups and everybody and anybody as long as they can contribute to make Sarawak better," he said.

He said the decision also had nothing to do with the soon-to-be-enforced anti-hopping law or to form a new party and he was not interested either to contest in the upcoming 15th general election.

On whether he would be an opposition-friendly or government-friendly independent assemblyman, he replied: "I've always been friendly to everybody, I think. No question about friendly to who but not just being friendly, but to get everybody to work together for the greatness of Sarawak".

See won the Batu Lintang state seat for the first time in the 10th Sarawak Election in 2011 as a PKR candidate and successfully defended the seat in the following election in 2016, before switching to PSB to win the seat for the third term in the 12th State Election last year.

-- BERNAMA