Sarawak elections: DAP candidate criticizes GPS for ‘misleading’ ads

Malaysia – Irene Chang, the Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) candidate in Bukit Assek, has criticized her opponent Joseph Chieng of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) for what she describes as “misleading” campaign videos.

According to her, some of Chieng’s videos featured comments that may be regarded as defamatory.

In a news conference yesterday, she said that despite the fact that it is election season, she would want to remind Chieng that all candidates should do their own due diligence and avoid misleading the public when there is no foundation for it, and that all candidates should respect one another.

Chang was responding to Chieng’s charge that she was unaware of the regional difficulties in Bukit Assek and did not seek help from the federal government to tackle them.

Chang responded by asking Chieng to talk with Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting to see if she had contacted him on a frequent basis about local concerns in an attempt to fix them.

“I also ask him to peruse my Facebook posts to ascertain my actions, which I had documented online as an account of my service to the community.

“I also ask him to examine the Hansard of the DUN (State Legislative Assembly) sittings to see if I had been consistently and regularly speaking up on Bukit Assek topics and whether they demonstrated my knowledge of regional concerns in Bukit Assek,” she remarked.

Chang expressed surprise at Chieng’s grasp of federal and state government control over problems like as roads, drains, trash, and floods in Bukit Assek, as well as local government and the purpose of funding granted.

She added that in light of this, he should understand that federal funding will not and cannot be utilized for state projects for which state funds have already been earmarked.

Chang, Chieng, Andrew Ting of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Priscilla Lau of Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), Jess Lau of Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi), and Independent Hii Tiong Huat will square off in Bukit Assek.

Additionally, DAP senior leader Lim Kit Siang, DAP Dudong candidate Paul Ling, and DAP Pelawan candidate David Wong attended the news conference.