DAP man unaware he was being written off

KUCHING - DAP’s Batu Kitang candidate, Abdul Aziz Isa, has been on a roll from day one, trying to convince the Chinese community, who make up half of the new seat’s electorate, that he understands them enough to be their elected rep.

Aziz had no idea that the most controversial seat at the centre of the DAP-PKR seat allocation imbroglio, which his party leaders had him contest in “retaliation” to PKR’s supposed breach of agreement, was to be snatched away from under his feet.

The youngest DAP candidate, Aziz, 26, told the New Straits Times that he had no clue of the plan where, as he was slogging away trying to woo voters, DAP had offered to back off from the crowded five-corner fight in the seat if PKR withdrew its candidates from five other seats where DAP and PKR faced off.

He gets to stay, though, after PKR thumbed its nose at DAP’s offer.

Aziz, who claimed to have begun engaging the constituents for a while, was not hesitant when asked if he was willing to drop his cause for the more than 17,000 registered voters if he had been told to back off.

“No one told me about this and I am not aware of it. If it’s true, then I will have to deal with it and move on. I will follow what my boss says,” he said after his walkabout with villagers of Kampung Haji Baki in Jalan Batu Kitang here, adding that it would not be a big deal for him if he was retired from the contest.

He also spoke about his last minute move from the Stakan seat to Batu Kitang, saying he was just following orders and would abide by any decision his party made.

The Batu Kitang seat is one of 11 newly delineated seats in the 82-seat Sarawak assembly and was carved out from Kota Sentosa and Batu Kawah, two DAP-held state constituencies. Aziz is taking on BN’s Lo Khere Chiang, PKR’s Voon Shiak Ni and two independents. - Esther Landau NST