LOSING two seats in the 2018 14th General Election (GE14) was very bitter and painful for Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
It told on his face especially considering that the two seats would have augmented his stronghold.
But he has since got over it and Tiong, who turned 61 on September 3, now has a renewed sense of determination to take back the seats. In fact, he is optimistic that the mission will be achieved.
With seven days left before balloting takes place, Tiong is working hard for that purpose, repeatedly heading to Saratok and Mas Gading to give a personal touch to the people in the area.
“My spirit is strong enough. I have quite an appetite. I am quite confident of everyone’s support,” he said clearly and loudly when he met the writer in Lundu, yesterday.
For Tiong, Mas Gading is almost certainly in the bag. He is confident that the candidate, Lidang Diseng, 47, an entrepreneur and engineer is capable of pulling through.
This is because Lidang, an entrepreneur with an engineering background, has been in the field for a long time and the reception towards him has been quite good, especially after the performance of the incumbent, Mordi Bimol (DAP) who has been absent for almost three years after winning the seat in 2018.
The Mas Gading race will see a three-cornered fight between Mordi, Lidang, and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) candidate Ryan Sim Min Leong.
In GE14, Mordi caused a surprise when he defeated the incumbent, Anthony Nogeh Gumbek, the Secretary General of the PDP, by 3,024 votes.
The Mas Gading parliamentary area has 47,096 registered voters of whom 32,585 are from the Bidayuh community.
In Saratok meanwhile Tiong is faced with a unique case. This is because this seat should be easily won, if the incumbent Datuk Ali Biju had agreed to join the PDP.
But Ali who won the seat on a PKR ticket was slow to respond to PDP and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
It is understood that there was a communication problem after Ali handed over the Krian state assembly seat last December, causing his name not to be listed this time.
As things turned out Tiong opted for Giendam Jonathan Sait, a chemical engineer who also has a master’s degree in business administration.
For Giendam, opposing Ali Biju will not be an easy task because he, as deputy minister, is very close to community leaders and people in the area.
Due to that, Giendam needs special help from Tiong and GPS Chairman, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg to surmount the challenge posed by Ali.
In GE14, Ali won the seat with a majority of only 989 votes, defeating new face Jagah@Subeng Mula, who contested on a BN-PDP ticket.
In other seats, it looks like PDP can hold its own, even though the challenge is quite interesting.
For example, in Baram, he re-nominated Datuk Anyi Ngau to defend the seat. His rival may come from Sarawak PKR Chairman, Roland Engan, who has quite a bit of experience competing in the seat, compared to the Independent candidate, Wilfred Entika.
However, based on Anyi’s improved performance in defeating Roland, from a majority of 194 votes in 2013 to 1,990 votes in 2018, he is confident the seat will be successfully won.
A total of 59,494 voters are eligible to vote there this time, with 30,619 of them from the Orang Ulu community and another 20,020 from the Iban population.
In Bintulu which is Tiong’s own stronghold, he does not face many problems,given his people-centric demeanour which has struck a chord among his constituents.
Because of that he is not expected to face any problem to win a sixth term on Nov 19.
Tiong is being challenged by Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate, Duke Jandeng and DAP candidate, Chiew Chan Yew.
In GE14, he defeated Chiew Yan with a majority of 7,022 votes, in a three-cornered fight.
