Phang is pictured meeting villagers.
MIRI (Oct 19): Early this month, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting unofficially introduced three potential candidates – councillor Jeffrey Phang, councillor Leslie Lau Ik Chie, and councillor Aries Leong Chin Lim, to contest the Miri parliamentary seat for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the coming 15th general election (GE15).
This has started the guessing game of who will be chosen to represent SUPP-GPS in the constituency.
Deemed as the most experienced among the three, Phang, 48, an architect with his own firm, has been servicing the community with SUPP Senadin under the wings of Senadin assemblyman and Minister of Transport Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin.
Graduating in 1999 with a Bachelor in architecture from Universiti Teknology Malaysia, he first worked as an architectural surveyor with Miri City Council (MCC). In 2010, he left to seek other opportunities and in 2014, was appointed as MCC councillor.
Given his professional background in architecture and with more than 20 years of experience on the ground, Phang is said to be the most possible choice among the three potential candidates.
Aries Leong Chin Lim
Leong, 47, a building contractor with 17 years of experience in the field, graduated from Middlesex University London with a Master in Investment and Finance.
He previously served as SUPP Piasau youth chief, branch secretary and SUPP Central Committee youth training secretary. He currently serves as organising secretary to chairman Datuk Sebastian Ting.
To date, Leong has served MCC as councillor for nearly six years. As chairman of MCC’s Market Traders and Hawkers standing committee, he has been actively connecting and communicating with hawkers and petty traders, those in need of help, understanding their situation and assisting with matters related to the council’s market.
Regarded as Ting’s successor, Leong has been working closely and under the guidance of the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, and has been deputising Ting at many events and functions when the latter was not physically available due to work and family commitments.
The third potential candidate, Lau, 32, may be the youngest among the three, yet his community services for charitable causes should catch voters’ attention.
Lau graduated from Curtin Malaysia, Sarawak in 2013 with Bachelor in Applied Geology. After graduating, he worked offshore from 2014-2016 and in 2016, returned to Miri to serve full-time with SUPP and Ting.
He is currently serving as SUPP Piasau branch youth secretary and assistant trainer in SUPP Central.
Leslie Lau
Lau has been actively promoting education and literacy among children from hardcore poor families by establishing Miri Education Initiative Society (MEIS), a legally registered non-profit organisation.
MEIS focuses on reaching out to families in poorer part of Miri struggling to send their children to school. The organisation helps the children learn English language.
However, it cannot be ruled out that Ting could end up being picked by the GPS leadership as he is a familiar and popular face among the people, and also known at the federal level having served as political secretary to former Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Environment and former Miri MP Tan Sri Peter Chin Fah Kui.
If he is picked, it would be Ting’s third time contesting the Miri seat, having lost in the 2013 and 2018 parliamentary polls to incumbent Dr Michael Teo of PKR.
In 2013, Dr Teo won by a majority of 1,992 votes in a three-cornered fight, and retained the seat in 2018 in a straight fight by a majority of 13,663 votes.
Ting has so far not officially responded to enquiries whether he will be contesting again, but has not shut down the possibility if given the opportunity again.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3D60kXS
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