Energy, Green Tenchnology and Water Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui, currently serving his sixth term as member of parliament for Miri, said it is time to hand over the baton to a younger person in the coming 13th general election.

However, Chin, who is also Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) president, said he would continue to helm the state BN component party until his term expires.

"Twenty six years as a member of parliament is long enough and its time to hand over the baton to a younger person," he told Bernama after attending a dinner organised by the Sarawak Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture, Miri, last night.

Chin, 67, who confirmed on Thursday that his name was not in the list of candidates submitted by the party to the BN leadership, said his political secretary and SUPP communication and information chief Datuk Sebastian Ting was nominated to replace him.

Asked if the prime minister and BN chairman had endorsed the seven nominated candidates from SUPP, he said, it was Najib Razak's prerogative to announce the list at an appropriate time.

Onslaught of social media

In the 2008 general election, the party won six of the seven parliamentary constituencies contested but lost a seat to the opposition DAP in the 2010 Sibu by-election.

Earlier he said the ministry's efforts to reach out to the people to explain government policies would continue to be tested in the soon-to-be held election, especially due to the onslaught of the social media, including cyber troopers, and illegal radio stations bent to spin off-truths and lies about the ruling BN.

Thanks to the support and assistance provided by the ministry's various agencies, including the Information Department, to drive home the government's message he was able to engage with his constituents in the longhouses and other remote areas during the early days of his political career in particular, Chin added.

- Bernama