KUCHING: Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Richard Riot is not unduly worried over the DAP’s claims that the Bidayuh, who form the majority of constituents in the Serian parliamentary seat, were warming towards the opposition.
The Serian Member of Parliament and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) deputy president said he was confident with the esprit de corps among the state Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, especially Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the BN could still retain the seat convincingly.
“I know my strengths and weaknesses as I have been working very hard on the ground over the past 20 years...but, on the other hand, I do not want to be over-confident,” he told Bernama here yesterday.
DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had claimed that the big attendance at a DAP talk in Serian last Saturday night, was an indication of increasing acceptance of the opposition by the Bidayuh in the district.
However, Riot, who is likely to be fielded for a sixth term in the coming general election, refuted such claims because about 70 per cent of the attendees were Iban from the neighbouring parliamentary constituency of Sri Aman, where land matters relating to native customary rights remained a thorny issue.
“He (Guan Eng) can claim whatever he wants.This is a democratic country,” he said, adding that the question of whether the Bidayuh were still solidly behind the BN government should be decided at the ballot boxes.Although Serian is considered one of the “safest” among the seven parliamentary seats traditionally allocated to SUPP, Riot, as SUPP’s sole Bidayuh Member of Parliament, believes he has the upper hand, having been active on the ground since he began his political career in 1990.
– Bernama
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