The Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) would hold its central working committee (CWC) meeting on April 25 to finalise the candidate for the Sibu by-election.

   

SUPP president George Chan Hong Nam said even though the Sibu branch has recommended Robert Lau Hui Yew or popularly known as 'Robert Lau Junior' as the candidate, the matter still needed to be discussed by the party CWC.

   

"It's just a normal procedure. We still have to observe the procedure before the party officially submits its name to the state and national leadership," he told Bernama when met at the nomination centre for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election here today.

   

Chan, who is a deputy chief minister of Sarawak, was among the BN leaders present to accompany BN candidate P Kamalanathan to submit his nomination form for the Hulu Selangor by-election.

Rich family

The Sibu parliamentary by-election is being called following the demise of Deputy Transport Minister Robert Lau Hoi Chew on Friday. Nomination has been set for May 8 and polling on May 16.

   

Hui Yew, who has been a SUPP member for the past 17 years, is the late Robert Lau's second cousin. He is the branch's assistant treasurer.

   

His father, Lau Swee Nguong, is chairman of the KTS Group of companies, which deals in timber, log exports, plywood manufacturing, oil palm plantations and shipping.

   

He had long been groomed by the late Lau to take over from him and had been involved in the re-development programme of Sibu mission schools, a project initiated by Hoi Chew, for which the latter will forever be remembered.

   

Sibu has 54,695 registered voters comprising 52,158 normal voters and 2,537 postal voters made up of 1,910 military and 627 police personnel.

   

- Bernama