MIRI: A senior leader of Barisan Nasional in Sarawak is confident the ruling coalition will be able to do well in most of the state’s Chinese-majority parliamentary constituencies.
Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said Chinese voters in Sarawak have started returning to Barisan as was evident during the state elections in 2016.
The Bintulu MP expressed confidence that the trend will continue in the coming months when the 14th general election which will coincide with the parliamentary polls for Sarawak is held.
Sarawak has 31 parliamentary seats of which at least 10 are Chinese-majority areas.
However, Tiong warned against careless remarks that could jeopardise Barisan’s present favourable standing among Chinese voters in Sarawak.
Citing remarks attributed to Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz about billionaire Robert Kuok, he said it was against the spirit of Barisan Nasional.
In a statement, Tiong said Chinese-based component parties in Barisan had suffered in the past due to careless and insensitive remarks by certain quarters.
Tiong reminded Nazri to be careful about his remarks and said not all Chinese are pro-DAP, citing the current situation in Sarawak.
He noted that in Sarawak, there were very clear signs Chinese voters had started returning to Barisan as seen in the results of the 2016 state elections.
“BN won eight of the 16 key Chinese seats in the state elections.
“Nazri should look at the results of the Sarawak elections and be grateful to the Chinese for returning to the BN,” he said.
Tiong called on Nazri and other leaders to adhere to the Barisan spirit and not make remarks that could be detrimental to the ruling coalition’s chances at national level and in Sarawak.
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