EXCLUSIVE Marking the ‘Sibu Miracle’ has taken on a different meaning for lawyer and new MP Wong Ho Leng, 51.

Where many first-term parliamentarians would have taken at least a few days off after a gruelling election campaign, the Sarawak DAP chief went straight to work.

NONE He returned to the Sarawak state assembly hot on the heels of his May 16 victory in the by-election, followed soon after by his maiden stint in Parliament. It left Wong with little time, if any, for rest.

But with two Houses to attend and scores of issues - large and small - to wrangle, can Wong fully serve Sibu as its parliamentarian?

His answer is unequivocal: “Yes.”

Contrary to the view that he has too much on his plate, Wong believes that being a parliamentarian on top of his post as state assemblyperson gives him wider scope to serve the people.

“Regardless of whether I have been elected as Bandar Sibu MP or not, I make no distinction about my political base,” he said.

“I’ll serve all my constituents irrespective of whether they voted for me or not. I’ll treat everyone as my friends and constituents, not just my voters. To serve both in (the state seat of) Bukit Assek and all those who need my help, no problem.”

sibu by election 120510 najib at hoover mission house Wong pointed out that his experience, coupled with the fact that he is a Sibu local, makes a big difference in serving the interests of his constituents.

Taking the example of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s infamous “I help you, you help me” deal in Rajang Park, he stressed that the premier does not fully fathom the problems faced by Sibu residents.

“Yes, flood-prone areas are found throughout Sibu, but Rajang Park is not a ‘prominent’ flood- prone area. I really don’t know if Najib knew what he was talking about.

“I am from Sibu... how do you solve floods in Rajang Park by dumping RM5 million for flood mitigation? Let him (Najib) go find out for himself.”

Wong said there is a simple solution to Sibu’s perennial flood problems - dredge the Rajang river and clear bottlenecks along the Rajang and the Igan rivers, one of the Rajang’s larger tributaries.

“I measured the (depth) of the Rajang in 2005 and it is only 6.5 feet deep (at the centre). How can that be enough to discharge the flood waters from the residential areas to the South China Sea?

“And along the Rajang and Igan, there are a lot of bottlenecks. You must clear the bottlenecks and dredge the river beds, and yet the BN government is not doing it. I don’t know why they are not doing it.”

‘Words twisted’

Wong also struck out at Supp leaders, especially president George Chan and Sibu chief Wong Soon Koh, who had pressed Wong to deliver on his ‘promise’ to solve Sibu’s flood problems within two years.

NONE Wong said they had deliberately twisted his words - his pledge was conditional on the DAP forming the federal government with its Pakatan Rakyat partners in two years.

“In my manifesto, I said that - in the event DAP forms the federal government - we should be able to fix the flood problem in two years. I didn’t say that the moment I got elected, from that moment onwards, you (should) count (off) two years for me to solve the flood problem.

“I’m no fool ... At this moment in time, at the federal level, DAP remains in the opposition. How can you deliver when the money, the lifeline for purposes of flood mitigation, is in the hands of the BN?”

Wong stressed that the people of Sibu are not nearly as bothered by the floods as they are by the daily challenges of living.

He said one of his biggest tasks as an elected representative will be to attend to the daily affairs of the people.

“The bread and butter issues, including things like going to government departments - some people don’t even know how to apply for a passport or licence.

“There are problems with school fees, buying schoolbags and shoes... all these very, very small issues can be very big issues for the poor folk in Bandar Sibu.”

As a federal lawmaker, Wong said he is now in a position to raise problems not just faced by his constituents, but all Malaysians.

NONE In his maiden speech in Parliament, he raised the issue of the continued marginalisation and neglect of Sarawak, which he said is treated like a colony of Peninsular Malaysia. He also spoke about Sibu’s floods, education issues and corruption in Sarawak.

“I have to bring up their (the people’s) problems, plight, as MP for Bandar Sibu, not only for Bandar Sibu, but the whole of Sarawak and Malaysia.

“In compliance with my speech after the by-election, I said I will serve regardless of race, religion and creed...  any problems that concerns our rakyat , I have to bring them up.”

VIDEO | 10 mins

Yesterday: ‘Pakatan can win Sarawak’