Zahid: I will fight for a Chinese deputy CM in Sarawak

(FMT) – Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he will ask the state government to appoint more Chinese ministers and even a deputy chief minister if the voters pick them over the Opposition in the May 7 state election.

He said Chinese voters should support the Chinese BN candidates as it will help them in the long run.

“If many Chinese state assemblymen are elected, I will whisper to the state government to appoint Chinese as ministers or even assistant ministers.

“If more win, then I will whisper loudly. Now is the time for a deputy CM to be appointed from among Chinese,” he told the crowd at the Saberkas Night Market today.

He was echoing similar sentiments expressed by Chief Minister Adenan Satem that he might reappoint a Chinese deputy CM if SUPP and Chinese candidates did well in the election.

However, this would be impossible if SUPP were to lose in the May 7 polls, said Adenan.

The Chinese deputy CM post was left vacant after the defeat of former SUPP chief George Chan in the 2011 state election.

SUPP lost 13 seats out of the 19 it contested in the last state polls. Leadership problems led to the split of the party and the birth of UPP in 2013.

The deputy CM post was traditionally reserved for the SUPP leader and it is believed that its president, Dr Sim Kui Hian, might be appointed to the post if he wins the Batu Kawah seat.