Sarawak polls: SUPP admits strong competition in urban areas

Its secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting said among the areas of focus and full of challenges are Pujut, Senadin, Piasau, Batu Kawah, Kota Sentosa, Padungan, Batu Kitang, Pending and Batu Lintang.

"Across Sarawak, all constituencies with a majority of Chinese voters are expected to face strong competition, including all 18 seats contested by SUPP," he told reporters after launching the Sepakat@Komuniti programme organised by the Information Department here today.

He said politics is unpredictable but all candidates from SUPP would continue to serve the people in line with the main objective of the party's establishment since 1959.

"We are very committed and hardworking and we never give up because SUPP is a service-oriented party. The people will decide and we will see how much support they will give us," he said.

When asked about Miri mayor Adam Yii who would be contesting in Pujut, Sebastian said he was confident with Yii's capability to recapture the seat from DAP.

"Of course, SUPP is happy when Adam Yii was named the candidate for the Pujut constituency. We need to work together to secure a win for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)," he added.

In the 11th Sarawak state election, the Pujut seat was won by Dr Ting Tiong Choon from DAP. However, he was disqualified as the state assemblyman in May 2017, for having Malaysian and Australian citizenships.

During the election, SUPP won seven seats, namely Simanggang through Datuk Francis Harden Hollis, Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii (Repok), Lo Khere Chiang (Batu Kitang), Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian (Batu Kawah), Datuk Ding Kuong Hiing (Meradong), Sebastian (Piasau) and Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin (Senadin).

GPS comprises Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), SUPP and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).

The Election Commission has set Dec 6 for nomination, Dec 14 for early voting and Dec 18 for polling.