SARATOK: The P.205 Saratok Parliamentary constituency is expected to see a three-cornered fight in this coming 14th General Election (GE14).
This three-cornered fight will be between the Barisan Nasional (BN), Jagah@ Subeng Mula who is a new face, a Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Ali Biju and an Independent Hamka Othman who have all confirmed their nominations. All are Saratok locals.
In his announcement of all BN candidates on last 25 April, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Johari Tun Openg who is also State BN Chairman put up Subeng Mula as the BN candidate to replace incumbent Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom.
When speaking to New Sarawak Tribune/Utusan Sarawak Subeng said he was grateful to the Chief Minister for putting him as the BN candidate and that he is not perturbed by the possible three-cornered fight as he believes the people are still strongly behind BN and expecting more developments that it would bring.
“I believe the people in Saratok Parliamentary area are still strongly in support of BN for uninterrupted development, especially that of basic facilities,” he pointed out.
“The government’s efforts of uplifting the people’s standard of living are ongoing. These are meant to provide the people with facilities that could ensure their comfort and convenience,” he added.
Subeng said if the people remain strongly with their support to the government they are not only able to enjoy the fruits of development but are assured of a better life in the future.
“The ‘rakyat’ must be wise in assessing the prestige and good work of the BN government that has succeeded in meeting their expectations and looking after their needs,” he said further.
The Saratok Parliamentary area has a total of 30,517 voters comprising the Iban voters with 56 per cent, Malays (37 per cent) and the remaining seven per cent are Chinese voters.
In the GE13 (2013) Tan Sri William Mawan who stood on the ticket of the party he led, namely Sarawak Democratic Progressive Party (SPDP), now known as PDP, won the seat in a direct fight against Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Ali Biju with a majority of 2,081 votes.
