Choosing the best and right candidates will be a determining factor for the Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) to win all the 19 seats it is contesting in the coming state election.

Party president Dr George Chan Hong Nam said the party's line-up of candidates was usually selected through a long process by going to the ground to get feedback from grassroots members.

"A lot of times, we (party leaders) draw up names first and see what the reaction is and most of the time, we will put them forward when there is the best candidate," he was quoted as saying by Bernama in Sibu last night.

He said the party had already shortlisted a few names, including new faces, for the two new seats - Kota Sentosa and Opar - allocated to it by the state Barisan Nasional (BN) but had yet to make a final decision.

Fielding all incumbents

Supp, the second largest BN component party in Sarawak after Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), is expected to field all its incumbents for the 16 seats which it won in the last state polls in 2001 as well as a candidate for Kidurong which it lost to the DAP.

Asked whether the predominantly Chinese-based party would face any major challenges from the opposition DAP, he said Supp was confident of winning all the 19 seats it would be contesting this time around.

"We always have a strong challenge from DAP but, somehow, because the party is working together as a team, most of the time we can win and the people can actually see that we can perform based on our track record, " he said.