Photo shared by Jugah (right) on Facebook of him with Dr Sim (centre) and Willie during their meeting on Wednesday.
KUCHING (May 30): Former Lubok Antu MP Jugah Muyang has offered himself as a potential candidate for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to contest the Engkilili seat in the upcoming state election.
Speaking to The Borneo Post, he said he paid a courtesy visit on Wednesday to Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian to discuss the matter “due to requests from my supporters” and to seek the latter’s advice.
Jugah was asked to comment on a photo he shared on Facebook showing him and Puncak Borneo MP Datuk Willie Mongin with Dr Sim, who is Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president.
“I still believe GPS is looking for the most suitable candidate who can bring back the Engkilili seat under SUPP, a component of GPS.
“They know I have a strong supporter base and that GPS can secure a handsome majority (through my candidacy),” he said.
According to Jugah, the meeting with Dr Sim only discussed “intentions” and that no concrete decision was made.
“On whether the party (SUPP) accepts (my proposal), that would be up to them. We will support their decision,” he said.
The Engkilili seat is currently represented by Dr Johnical Rayong Ngipa of Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), another GPS component.
The constituency had been one of SUPP’s ‘traditional’ seats until 2006 when Rayong secured victory as a candidate of the now-defunct Sarawak National Party (SNAP).
He went on to defend the seat—twice on a Sarawak Barisan Nasional ticket, and on a Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) ticket in the last state election in 2021.
Following the dissolution of PSB in 2024, Rayong and other elected representatives of the party were absorbed en bloc into PDP.
As for Jugah, the 62-year-old won the Lubok Antu parliamentary seat as an independent candidate in the 2018 general election but failed to defend it in 2022, losing to GPS’ Roy Angau Gingkoi of Parti Rakyat Sarawak who won by a razor-thin 100-vote majority in a four-cornered fight that also included Rayong.
Roy secured 6,644 votes against Rayong’s 6,544 and Jugah’s 5,360, while Pakatan Harapan candidate Langga Lias polled just 746 votes.
Jugah contested the election on a Perikatan Nasional ticket, representing Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
However, he told The Borneo Post that he is no longer associated with Bersatu, explaining that the party had merely “borrowed” him for the polls then.
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