Newly-crowned member of parliament for Sibu Wong Ho Leng declared his victory as the "beginning of the awakening of Sarawak".

The Sarawak DAP chief said the Pakatan Rakyat's win will make sure no one will take the resource-rich state for granted anymore.

"This is one small step in Sibu, one big step to Petrajaya, and one giant step to Putrajaya," he said to cheers from Pakatan members and supporters at a press conference after the results were officially announced at 10.45pm last night.

NONE Wong, who is also Bukit Assek assemblyman, thanked his supporters, saying that the win was not his victory but that of "all conscientious voters in Sibu".

"For those who did not vote for me, I want to be your friend. I will speak as the MP for all voters of Sibu," he said.

His opponent, Robert Lau Hui Yew of SUPP, graciously accepted his defeat though he expressed sadness that he will not be able to continue with the plans his late cousin, Robert Lau Hoi Chiew, had for Sibu.

"I am sad because I think with this result, Sibu will lose a lot of things. In my campaign I’d said that if we lose, we lose the confidence of the federal government.

"But my heart is still with the people of Sibu. I am still a local councillor and I will continue to serve them, although my scope will not be as wide as that of an MP," he said at a separate press conference.

sibu by election 070510 robert lau Lau acknowledged that they lost even more Chinese support compared to the 2008 general elections, and promised to better understand them and convince the Barisan Nasional's detractors that they are the best choice in turning Malaysia into a developed nation.

"I hope my loss was not because they rejected me... I hope it is just because of the strategy of the opposition," he said.

Lau apologises to journalists

Lau also apologised for being difficult with the media, admitting that he was not comfortable being tailed around by journalists.

"I admit I have been trying to get away from the press because I'm not used to having paparazzi following me around," he quipped.

"If I had been rude, I do apologise and maybe next time I will be more open and professional."

Energy, Green Techology and Water Minister Peter Chin, speaking on behalf of the federal government, said Prime Minister Najib Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin were thankful for the support given to Lau.

"He lost by 398 votes only. That is a very narrow margin, and we hope that Robert will take heart in his achievement in gathering votes and hope he strives forward to help the people of Sibu in whatever capacity he can," he said.

Chin, who is also SUPP organising secretary, said both the prime minister and deputy premier have given their assurance that the BN will keep its promises.

DAP's Wong won the Sibu parliamentary seat by a razor-thin 398-vote majority, garnering a total of 18,845 votes against Lau's 18,447.

Independent candidate Narawi Haron finished the race with 232 votes.

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