KUCHING: Former Miri mayor Datuk Lawrence Lai has offered his services to help recapture the seat of Pujut from Democratic Action Party (DAP) in the coming state election.
“If and whenever required, I would be willing to offer my services to The Sarawak United People’s Party/Gabungan Parti Sarawak (SUPP/GPS) in the coming state election to win back Pujut seat, which was lost to DAP in the 2011 and 2016 state elections,” he said yesterday.
Lai believed that his past experience as mayor and his close engagement with the community in Miri would enable him to better serve Mirians in general and Pujut in particular.
“This is in view of the fact that Senadin and Piasau are already represented and well serviced by incumbent SUPP comrades Datuk Lee Kim Shin and Datuk Sebastian Ting, respectively,” he said in a statement.
Lai said both Lee and Ting and the SUPP team behind them had given excellent service to the people of Miri.
He rubbished talks and news reports alleging that he had joined other political parties with intention of contesting in the seat.
“I wish to clarify that I have always been a member of SUPP for over 30 years (having joined on June 19, 1990) until today, and that I have not joined any other political party,” he added.
According to Lai, who was a member of SUPP Central Committee from 2009 to 2011, he had also been Miri SUPP (Piasau) branch vice-chairman (2009-2011); SUPP Youth Central deputy chairman (2005-2008); SUPP Youth Miri branch chairman (2005-2008) and SUPP Miri branch exco member (1993-2011).
He also thanked SUPP and the state government for giving him the chance to serve Miri as the second mayor from January 1, 2009 to June 30, 2016.
