What drives Stevenson to contest in Jepak?

BINTULU - Other candidates may have political agenda to achieve, but Stevenson Joseph Sumbang has a more personal reason to contest in the Jepak state by-election next month.

He wants a cancer treatment centre to be established in Bintulu.

The death of his wife Pauline Bu last year, after battling with cervical cancer for more than two years, has also prompted him to list the establishment of the centre here as one of his main missions should he win the by-election.

"It was on May 25 last year that my wife Pauline passed away and she was 41. Her passing really had a great impact on me personally as she was beside me throughout the last state election,” the Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) candidate told Bernama here.

Stevenson, 42, said he knew he is in an uphill battle as a PBK candidate to win the hearts of the voters in the Malay/Melanau-dominant Jepak state constituency, facing the massive Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) machinery spearheaded by their candidate Iskandar Turkee, 54.

The influence of Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak (Aspirasi) candidate Chieng Lea Phing, 64, as a local businessman is also another big challenge that he has to face in the by-election, which was called following the demise of its incumbent, Datuk Talib Zulpilip last Sept 15.

Stevenson said he never thought that he would be asked by PBK to come out into action again after being fielded as its candidate for the Sarawak 12th State Election two years ago, which turned out to be a baptism of fire for him.

Facing a seasoned politician in Talib, who had held the Jepak seat for five terms prior to the 12th State Election, Stevenson was humbled in a four-cornered contest when he only managed to garner 587 votes and lost his deposit. Talib was the eventual victor by a comfortable 4,243 votes.

The bitter experience had not deterred him after being named as a candidate in the by-election, as he said that he would be gunning for a better result, particularly with the inclusion of a substantial number of young voters in the electoral roll.

"I have my bitter experiences in the past, but these experiences had taught me to be even more ready to face this by-election,” he said, adding that he would pursue house-to-house visits besides using the social media platforms to carry out his campaign. - BERNAMA