“I’m confident but not over-confident that I can win Sibu again,” he said when met by FMT at his office in Rejang Park here yesterday.

Ling, a 41-year-old pharmacist, is defending his seat in a four-cornered fight against Andrew Wong of Barisan Nasional (BN)/SUPP), Tiong Ing Tung of Parti STAR, and Jamie Tiew, a political newcomer who is contesting on a Peace Party ticket.

Ling won the seat in 2013 in a three-cornered contest with BN’s Vincent Lau and independent candidate Narawi Haron.

He told FMT he was surprised to have won with a 2,841 majority as the late Sarawak DAP chairman Wong Ho Leng had only scraped through with a 398 majority in the 2010 by-election.

He said support for the opposition in Sibu had increased due to several factors, including the goods and services tax, the high price of petrol and the burden felt by the people over the rising cost of living.

He said there was also local resentment against the prime minister and the federal government over 1MDB and claims of abuse of power and corruption.

“Do not think that the people of Sibu are not aware of what is happening in the peninsula,” he said. “Sibu folk are not blind.”

He added however that he would continue working hard on the ground as nothing could be taken for granted in an election.

Describing himself as a low-profile MP, he said he wanted no publicity for his work. Instead, he said, it was important to stay grounded and be humble as the people’s representative.

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