Wednesday, April 30, 2008

ELECTION PETITION AGAINST YB CHONG CHIENG JEN

It is unprecedented for a voter to file an election petition because in the past such petitions were normally filed by candidates involved in the elections. I respect the right of Mr. Kho Whai Phiaw to file the petition but, in normal circumstances, if the petitioner concerned was a candidate from a political party, there were many things that need to be considered before filing the petition. The most important consideration is the ground reaction to the petition, that is, whether the voters could accept for such a decision by the candidate and the Party that sponsored the candidate.

My information is that Mr. Kho Whai Phiaw was an active member of an opposition political party holding some important posts in a Party Branch in Batu Lintang, and if that was true, it would not be in the interest of the Opposition for Mr. Kho Whai Phiaw to have filed the petition. To fight the petition will not only cause much mental agony to the contestants, but, also to the supporters of both sides and in a court case the outcome of the battle was always unpredictable. At the same time, SUPP although the opponent of DAP in Bandar Kuching, would also not benefit from this court battle either.

At this moment, there are speculations that a ruling party in the BN is also behind the petition and this will not be good for the political party concerned.

In the event, YB Chong Chieng Jen fails in his defence to the petition, the loss would not only affect the DAP, but, also the people of Kuching. YB Chong is a key player in DAP Sarawak and had performed well in past years as our MP and it could be a nice thing if he could be allowed to continue his work as usual. With that in mind may the people in Kuching stay calm and give moral support to YB Chong and DAP in defending the Petition, in which we are confident to overcome.

In the event, there could be a by-election as a result of this petition, we are confident not only in retaining Bandar Kuching, but be returned with a bigger majority.

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