MARCUS KANYONG
KUCHING: Peace Party pro tem deputy chairman Marcus Kanyong may contest as an independent in the Sri Aman parliamentary constituency.
Marcus said he has the backing of his hardcore supporters.
“Up to today, there is still no news about the status of Peace Party, which submitted its application to the Home Ministry. Therefore, following encouragement from my hardcore supporters, I would want to stand as independent,” he said yesterday. The 48-year-old businessman claimed to have intensified his efforts to meet voters two weeks ago, prior to the dissolution of parliament.
“I contested a state seat before. And to me, contesting in a parliamentary election is a new challenge and I am ready for it,” he said, adding he would collect his nomination form within the next few days.
In the 2001 state polls, Marcus stood in Bukit Begunan against Datuk Mong Dagang of Barisan Nasional (BN) in a four-cornered fight. Contesting under the State Reform Party (STAR) banner, he managed to garner 1,793 votes compared to Mong’s 4,669 votes.
Marcus did not lose his deposit unlike the other two independent candidates Maxwell Rojis (474 votes) and Lawrence Lendang Ambu (117 votes).
Current political developments seem to indicate that incumbent Masir Kujat of BN could face five opponents. Masir, who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) supreme council member, won the seat during his debut in 2008 by defeating Cobbold John Lusoi (independent) with a 4,252-vote majority.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has yet to announce which coalition partner will contest the seat although the Democratic Action Party’s (DAP’s) Sri Aman chairman Leon Jimat Donald has been working the area. Sarawak Workers Party (SWP), which aims to contest all six seats held by PRS, also has yet to announce its candidate for the constituency.
Other possible independent candidates include businessman Donald Lawan and Cobbold.
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