Larry Sng withdraws from elections, resigns as SWP president

KUCHING - Sarawak Workers Party founder Larry Sng has revealed that a lack of funds and the possibility of high debts led to his unexpected resignation from the party and withdrawal from the state elections.

Sng was to have been a candidate for Bukit Goram. He said the constituency was the “only dangerous seat” for Parti Pesaka Bumiputera, the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and BN would do anything to win.

“I believe I have a fair chance to win but at what cost? My budget for winning the election went up threefold and I am still underfunded.

“The real battleground is not the town area, but the longhouses because 80 percent of the voters live there.

“Looking at the funds I have raised, it would have put me in such high debt which would make it difficult to service the people in the next five years upon being elected. I don’t want to be just called a YB, I want to do something for my community,” Sng wrote in a Facebook posting today.

On Wednesday Sng announced his resignation as SWP president and withdrew his candidacy in the state elections. He said all party decisions would be made by the secretary-general, Munan Laja.

Sng was previously with Parti Rakyat Sarawak, but fell out with party President James Masing in 2006, which resulted in his being dropped from the 2011 elections.

“Personally, I am heartbroken, but I realise now that some decisions in life are difficult but necessary,” he said today.

Polling for the 82 seats in the state assembly will be held on May 7.