By WU VUIDE
KOTA KINABALU: Veteran politician Datuk David Chong Ket Sui has urged voters to carefully assess all parties and candidates, particularly in Chinese-majority seats, ahead of this Saturday’s Sabah polls.
He stressed that the community should support Chinese candidates who understand Chinese culture, heritage, education, and business sectors.
“There have been many restrictions affecting Chinese culture, signage, language use, and the display of cultural symbols in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
Chong reminded voters to choose a party that genuinely champions Chinese interests.
“The Chinese community must unite and vote for a party that supports the Chinese language, culture, vernacular, and independent schools. We need a strong voice to represent Chinese lawmakers in the State Legislative Assembly,” he said.
He noted that over the past five years, there have been no ‘local’ Chinese representatives in the State Assembly.
“The community must support a Sabah-based party that represents the Chinese voice, and the state must have Chinese representation in government. Voters must choose a party to be the voice of the Chinese community,” he urged.
Chong warned that if Chinese representatives remain weak and lack a strong voice, the community will gradually lose political influence.
In the past, he said, the Chinese community held 10 majority seats, which has now been reduced to eight, with two lost entirely.
He pointed out that although the total number of seats increased from 60 to 73 from the last election, the number of Chinese-majority seats did not increase but instead declined.
Other communities gained additional seats, while Chinese representation shrank due to a lack of politicians speaking up.
Chong added that the Chinese community once played a pivotal role as kingmaker in Sabah politics, but this influence has gradually weakened following demographic changes.
