KUCHING: See Chee How never complained about ‘party politicking’ during his stint as a presidential council member of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), according to the party.
The party said See joined PSB because he claimed he shared the same vision and dream for the people of Sarawak.
“See never once expressed any reservations or objections about ‘party politics’ and he was involved in many party decisions, including interviewing and selecting candidates for election.
“There was never any complaint about ‘party politicking’ from See so we are taken aback that he has chosen to use ‘party politics’ as his reason for quitting the party after winning the seat as a PSB candidate.
“We nominated him as our candidate for Batu Lintang constituency because we believed in him. We believed that he shared our ideals, to fight for the people of Sarawak, especially for the underprivileged who have been bypassed for more than half a century rule by Barisan National (BN).
“We thought his ideal was the same as ours – unfortunately, it looks like we were mistaken about him,” PSB said in a statement yestreday.
Throughout See’s political life, the party pointed out that he had been an opposition politician thus it was surprising that he said he would be ‘friendly’ with both the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and other parties now that he is an ‘independent’ assemblyman.
“He was with Democratic Action Party (DAP) and thereafter Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). After he was sacked by PKR, he decided to join PSB declaring that he had thought long and hard – he felt that PSB’s vision and ideals matched his own.
“It comes as a shock to us that See has chosen to become independent and declared he would be ‘friendly’ with GPS which he fought against in past elections,” it said.
Reflecting on how See won in the previous state election due to the support from PSB and its machinery as well as members, the party asserted that he became an assemblyman because of PSB.
The party said See signed a written pledge not to quit PSB if he won the seat as a PSB candidate, adding that he also pledged that if he quit PSB then he would resign as an assemblyman.
PSB said it had expressly and clearly informed each potential candidate that if their intention was to ‘jump ship’ after winning as a PSB candidate, they should not accept the candidacy and sign the pledge as well as agreement.
“For See to quit PSB immediately after the state election on the ostensible ground of wanting to get away from ‘party politics’ defies belief. If he had been so against ‘party politics’, why did he not resign from PSB before the state election and contest as an independent?
“He is a senior and experienced lawyer – he knew full well what he was signing when he was offered the opportunity to be a candidate for PSB,” it said.
The party stated that its president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh had called on See to resign as an assemblyman so that a by-election could be held in accordance with the pledge he gave to PSB.
