MIRI – PKR’s Dr Michael Teo will defend the Miri seat again in the 15th general election (GE15), following Sarawak Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) decision to renominate him for the parliamentary constituency.
Teo confirmed to The Vibes his renomination to defend the seat where he has been MP for the past two terms.
“Sarawak PKR and Sarawak PH have confirmed I will be fielded to defend the Miri parliamentary seat,” he said when met after a party meeting here.
Teo said he is expecting a three-cornered fight.
“I expect to be challenged by a candidate from the local opposition parties that have formed a pact, as well as a candidate from the Sarawak United People’s Party,” Teo said in reference to SUPP, which is a component party of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
Yesterday, the local opposition parties in northern Sarawak agreed on an official pact to face GE15, which will see the state vote for parliamentary seats only as it has already held its state election in December last year.
The local opposition parties – Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru, Parti Bumi Kenyalang, Sarawak for Sarawakians, and Parti Aspirasi Sarawak – have agreed that they will support one candidate from among them to contest the Miri seat.
Besides standing against PH, the pact will also have to face GPS.
PSB vice-president Datuk Lawrence Lai confirmed the pact with The Vibes, but did not disclose who its Miri candidate would be.
“Yes, we local opposition parties have managed to reach a pact to form one solid front to contest in Miri for GE15.
“We will work out common strategies in terms of campaigning, logistic support and reaching out to the grassroots via groundwork.
“All the leaders and members of these parties will support and vote for the one candidate that will come from among us,” said Lai, who is also PSB’s GE15 coordinating chairman in northern Sarawak.
Lai, a senior lawyer and former Miri mayor, called the pact an important milestone for local opposition unity.
The pact believes that local opposition parties need to address the Sarawak ruling government’s failures, which include allowing itself to be “dominated” by federal counterparts.
Meanwhile, SUPP secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting, when asked today who the party will nominate as the Miri candidate for GPS, said only coalition chairman and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg could make a final decision on the matter.
SUPP in Miri however, has submitted the names of a few capable young potential candidates to the party headquarters and to GPS for consideration. – The Vibes, September 18, 2022
