Former Supp stalwart Song Swee Guan may not be holding any public position now but that did not stop the contesting parties vying for the state seat of Padungan from making use of his name in their quest for votes.

This is because Song, who is in his sixties, is still popular and is believed by many to still hold some influence, especially in his former state seat.

Song was also a former Kuching Mayor, Bandar Kuching MP for two terms (1995 to 2004) and former Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly.

In this election, Padungan is a straight fight between incumbent Lily Yong (BN-Supp) and state PKR legal advisor Dominique Ng.

Two days ago, two huge billboards showing Song and Ng shaking hands appeared in Jalan Ban Hock and in Jalan Padungan.

The billboard message, written in Chinese, says 'When drinking water, think of its source' , suggesting the word 'source' in Chinese means 'Guan' to remind the public of Song's enormous contributions to Padungan.

There were naturally read faces among some Supp leaders as the billboard message had been interpreted by many constituents to mean Supp had abandoned one of their former strongmen.

For the record, Song was the only Supp leader able to defeat three-term popular DAP Bandar Kuching MP Sim Kwang Yang (left). He did so in the 1995 general election. Several candidates before him, including the late Supp president Stephen Yong, failed to do so.

Supp president Dr George Chan today met up with Song in the office of the party's Pending branch, headed by party secretary-general Sim Kheng Hui, in the presence of several other party leaders (photo).

Song's statement

In a one-page hand-written statement, Song referred to the PKR billboards showing him shaking hands with Ng.

"I want to state that I have no advance knowledge of the billboards being put up. Although I am partyless at the moment, my heart is still with Supp. For this purpose, I want to categorically state that I have not received any financial gains from any party and I would appeal to all not to make use of my name to raise money," Song said.

When contacted, Ng believed that the former Supp leader was trying to protect him as it would be an offence to raise money for him at this time.

The PKR candidate said the photograph was taken during a recent visit to Song's home.

Chan told reporters last night he was disgusted that Song's misfortune had been exploited by some quarters.

He said all he wanted to say was the party had done everything possible for him (Song) but declined to go into details.

Meanwhile, Lily Yong, the BN incumbent, complained bitterly about what she described was the mass transfer of more than 1000 voters, mostly BN supporters, out of Padungan to other constituencies.

She said she found out that many voters in his constituency had been moved out to other constituencies when she was making her campaign rounds.

But she stopped short of blaming the Election Commission, saying it was too late to do anything about it as polling in only two days away.