Former secretary of the Batu Kawah division, Christine Bong, told a press conference today that she and 29 others from the division decided to leave the party, so that they can pledge support for Liu.

“We have seen his sacrifices for the local community.

“We salute his hard work to help the people here get more development,” Bong said, adding that Liu’s contributions showed that he really cared for the people.

Bong predicted an “intense battle” in Batu Kawah, with Liu stepping into the ring, in what otherwise would have been a straight fight between BN and Pakatan Harapan.

“Besides, the Batu Kawah community will now have more choices, besides BN (SUPP’s Sim Kui Hian) and DAP’s Christina Chiew.”

She also refused to divulge if she and the others would return to UPP once the election was over.

UPP is a splinter party of SUPP.

Despite contesting as an independent, Liu said he would continue to support state Chief Minister Adenan Satem.