KUCHING: Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg remained tight-lipped about the candidate who will be contesting under the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) ticket in the Jepak state seat by-election.
“We will announce it tomorrow or the following day.
“The candidate is a man; he’s a local,” he said, declining to elaborate further.
Abang Johari, who is also the GPS chairman, said this to reporters after gracing the Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus graduation ceremony held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here today (Oct 17).
The Jepak state seat fell vacant due to the death of its incumbent Datuk Talib Zulpilip on Sept 15.
Talib, 72, died of kidney complications after being admitted into a medical centre on Sept 14.
The Election Commission (EC) has set the polling day for the by-election of Jepak state constituency on Nov 4.
Meanwhile, the nomination of candidates and early voting were fixed on Oct 21 and 31 respectively.
On Sunday, Abang Johari said they have identified several individuals to be fielded as its candidate, adding that the coalition will ensure that the selected candidate is ‘clean’ of criminal records and corruption.
The Jepak state seat is traditionally allocated to Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu’s (PBB) under a special arrangement among the GPS component parties.
