The bumiputeras will still strongly support the BN in the next state election which must be held before May next year, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud said today.

bn supreme council mt meeting sapp sabah issue 190608 taib mahmud The result of the May 16 Sibu by-election showed that the community's support for the BN had increased, he said when launching the "Sejiwa Senada Government With The People" programme at SK Perbandaran 3 in Sibu today.

The programme, a role and function exhibition by government departments and agencies, is the first of a series to be held statewide this year.

Its basic aim is to improve the government administration delivery system in conjunction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's Government Transformation Programme.

Taib ( above ) said he was confident of the bumiputeras continuing support because they believed in organised efforts and good clear policies in struggling for their betterment.

"The bumiputeras are humble. They know they are poor and in difficulty. So they place high hopes in the government to help them out."

He said that in the by-election, although there were people from outside trying to undermine their confidence in the government, the Malays, Ibans, Melanaus and others had been "humble enough to recognise that they still depend on a working government for their fate."

DAP state chairman Wong Ho Leng defeated SUPP Robert Lau Hui Yew with a majority of 398 votes to win the Sibu seat which has 54,695 registered voters,about 67 percent of whom are Chinese.

- Bernama