Tsen wants to continue husband’s work in Batu Sapi

The three personalities to watch in the Batu Sapi by-election (from left) — Yong, Tsen and Ansari. — Pictures by Jack Ooi

BATU SAPI, Oct 25 — Her rivals may be gearing up for a fierce tooth-and-nail battle for votes but widower Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin has her sights set on only one goal — to continue the work of her late husband Datuk Edmund Chong Ket Wah.

Her eyes glassing over at the mention of Chong’s name, the mother of four’s immediate words when asked of her vision for Batu Sapi was: “I just want to... to carry on with what my husband has started.”

Tsen, who has so far been out from media limelight since talk of her possible candidacy was raised, said this when approached by reporters after a meeting with the Barisan Nasional election machinery here in the Sabah Hotel tonight.

The trim and youthful-looking 54-year-old at first asked reporters if she could save her response for nomination day tomorrow but relented with a smile when she was persuaded for an answer.

In a soft and lilting voice, she explained that her only aim was to finish what her late husband had started and continue with his good work in the constituency.

“Because of his sudden death, a lot of things he wanted to do he could not finish so as a wife, I feel that I have this desire to finish what he started,” she said haltingly, her eyes beginning to glisten.

When asked if she felt that the Batu Sapi voters would ride on the emotional attachment to her husband, whose life was cut short by a biking tragedy, Tsen said: “I hope so that they will.”

She was later asked for her message to her two rivals in the race, Sabah Progressive Party’s (SAPP) Datuk Yong Teck Lee and PKR’s Ansari Abdullah, but the press conference was cut short by an aide standing nearby.

Giving a regretful smile to the press before she was led away, Tsen said she did not really have any message to her contenders but noted that it would be a “tough fight”.

“We will work hard,” she said.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin chaired the meeting with a number of Barisan Nasional personalities, including Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and several east Malaysian elected representatives.

Tsen was said to have been chosen as the BN’s candidate for the seat due to her being the wife of Chong and his popularity among the Batu Sapi constituents.

She is however herself involved in politics and is the Elopura PBS Wanita deputy chief.

Meanwhile, Tsen’s leading contender for the battle, Yong, a former Sabah chief minister, told The Malaysian Insider that his campaign would concentrate on the local issues plaguing the people of Sabah.

He insisted that although the sentiment was such, the by-election should not be about particular individuals but about the work that they could do.

“The issue of the by-election has always been about land, the unemployment rate, the rising prices of goods... it is not about a particular individual,” he said.

Yong, who led his Sabah-based party out of the BN after Election 2008, however, would not say if he meant that the late Chong had not been doing his job as an MP.

“I know Edmund and he was a stellar politician,” he said.

He hoped nomination day would go on smoothly tomorrow and took a subtle dig at BN for the hordes of supporters it would likely bring.

“We see huge groups of Umno leaders, flying in, coming by car, crowding the restaurants. I hope everything will go smoothly and it will be a good nomination process,” he said.

Ansari, the Tuaran PKR division chief, admitted that it would be an “uphill battle” for him in Batu Sapi.

For him, the struggle would be in convincing the local voters of the “bigger picture” at hand and hope it would be enough to beat BN’s play on their emotional sentiments.

“I believe the people have two choices — either they vote for the BN, which is maintaining the status quo, or they vote for somebody who can voice out the problems of the people in Parliament,” he said.

Using PKR’s national politics playbook as his weapon, Ansari revealed that he planned to drum into the minds of Sabah folk the importance of understanding that their local needs ultimately required a national victory for the opposition.

“Batu Sapi is another step for the opposition towards Putrajaya. These are local issues, security issues, cleanliness, bad roads, lack of street lights, the terrible unhygienic condition of these people’s lives, exposing the children to diseases, the electricity supply... yes they are local issues but they clearly cannot be resolved by the BN.

“We need to voice them out in Parliament because it will help push us towards change and we want to bring that change to Putrajaya for them,” he said.

Like Yong, Ansari stressed that the by-election should not be about the personalities but about the people.

“It is between the people and the government. As far as the candidates are concerned, among the three, we have one who is a mainstream from BN — Linda — and the culture she brings is that she will not voice out the people’s problems. The next candidate is Yong, who is neither here nor there. He is not with the BN and he is not really with the opposition,” he said.

PKR on the other hand, Ansari said, offered a fresh start for the nation on a whole.

“At the moment, the representation in Parliament is too lopsided towards the BN. The CM, the deputy CM, the deputy federal ministers, they are all from BN here. And despite this, the major problems of the people are not resolved,” he said.

The Batu Sapi nomination day has been set for tomorrow at the Sandakan community centre near here while polling day is on November 4.

Batu Sapi has 25,582 voters, including 1,535 postal voters.

The constituency near Sandakan comprises 15,099 Muslim Bumiputeras (59 per cent of the voters); 9,737 Chinese (38 per cent); 698 non-Muslim Bumiputeras (2.69 per cent); and 57 others (0.22 per cent).

Chong won the seat with a 3,708-vote majority over independent Chung On Wing in Election 2008.