KOTA KINABALU:
Lawyer Chin Tek Ming, the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary constituency, said he is facing a tough battle to retain the seat for the BN. The 38-year-old lawyer from the ‘cowboy town’ of Kota Belud said there were numerous hurdles ahead including warding off the strong challenge from the opposition especially the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP. In the upcoming election, Chin will face DAP stalwart Hiew King Chiew, PKR’s Christina Liew Chin Jin and independent candidate Kong Yu Kiong. “I’m a new person in politics. What I have now is of course a very tough fight or uphill battle. “It’s a four-cornered fight between the PKR, DAP, an independent and myself. The DAP is represented by state DAP chairman, PKR is represented by the Sabah PKR deputy chairman who is another well-known figure, and a very experienced independent candidate... they are all much senior to me,” he told Bernama here yesterday. Despite the odds, Chin still believed he had a “50-50” chance of prevailing in the Kota Kinabalu Parliamentary seat although his opponents were bracing to create an upset against the mighty BN machinery. “I look at it positively, and most of the promises by the Government under the leadership of the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) have been implemented. Other things like renewal of the lease for land in the whole of Kota Kinabalu has been extended and contribution given to churches, temples, independent or private schools. “I believe our intelligent voters should be able to assess all that and not be fooled by the opposition by giving empty promises which they can’t deliver because they are not in the capacity to do so,” he said. In the 2004 election, Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai (BN) won the Kota Kinabalu seat with a majority of 10,860 votes. Chin, a debutant and former Kapitan Cina Likas, said Kota Kinabalu was a unique city “with a lot of modern facilities and comfortable way of living”. However, he said there was still much work to be done to further develop Kota Kinabalu, the state capital and gateway of Sabah. As such, he said the people of Kota Kinabalu should continue supporting the government for continued development, thus benefiting them in the long run. Asked on his vision for Kota Kinabalu, Chin said as a new person in the political arena and a graduate from a Chinese independent school, he would continue highlighting, among others, the problems faced by independent or private schools to the Government. -Bernama
