Three-cornered fight expected in Pelawan as STAR announces its candidate

Lau (centre ) flanked by Wong (left) and Moh at the press conference.

SIBU: State Reform Party (STAR) has named Priscilla Lau as its candidate for the constituency of Pelawan.

Lau, a 47-year-old practising lawyer of PR Lau Advocates and the first STAR woman candidate for the central region, said her decision to contest was to fight for the rights of Sarawakians.

“We have been unfairly treated all this while by the federal government and we need to look into this great injustice and bring back our rights,” she said at the press conference today (April 15).

With her were STAR’s candidate for Bawang Assan, Wong Sing Wei and STAR’s candidate for Bukit Assek, Moh Hiong Kiong.

According to the Malaysia Agreement 1963, Lau said only two Ministries –Foreign Affairs and Defence – are supposed to be under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

“However, today, Sarawak only has full autonomy over its Immigration rights,” she said, adding that was what convinced her to join the contest.

With her announcement, Pelawan is now expected to see a three-cornered fight between incumbent DAP’s David Wong and direct BN candidate Kapitan Datuk Janet Lau.

Lau’s decision to contest on STAR’s ticket had apparently shocked the Chinese community here, with many expressing doubt and surprise as to why she wanted to join the fray.

“I admit that many of my friends were caught off guard when I told them I will contest in the Pelawan seat but my intentions are genuine.

“I am not going out to be a spoiler but am offering myself as a better alternative choice.”

Asked how she rates her chances against both David and Janet, she refused to go into details.

‘I know this is a tough fight but I will go all out to win the hearts and minds of the voters with my daily ceramah which will be held at Rejang Park very soon,” she said in response.

Born in Sibu, Lau went overseas to the United Kingdom at age 15 for her education.

After a decade, she went to Australia and worked there for five years before returning to Sarawak in 1997 at the peak of the economic recession then.

Upon her return, she started a law firm and had a brief tenure as legal advisor to a sitting Member of Parliament.

Mukah Pages sharing local news with BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News http://ift.tt/1Sb3cRY