S'WAK POLLS In his effort to woo Chinese votes in Sibu, Sarawak chief minister Adenan Satem told locals they had to choose between DAP or have Chinese ministers in the state cabinet.

"The Chinese will have to decide on Saturday whether they want to participate in the government or not.

"If you all support DAP, then you will not be in the government. But, if you support my Chinese candidates, such as Tiong Thai King and Wong Soon Koh, then you will be in the government.

"If you want to be in the government, you know what to do," he stressed.

Tiong and Wong are BN direct candidates for Dudong and Bawang Assan, both Chinese majority seats. Another BN direct candidate is Janet Lau.

Adenan was speaking at the 85th anniversary dinner of SJK(C) Tai Kwang, last night where he announced a RM500,000 allocation for the school.

The problems in the leadership of Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), he pointed out, were among the reasons Chinese lost faith with the party back in 2006 and 2011.

"There were many reasons why they lost faith in SUPP, one is the poor leadership at that time. Another is they think that SUPP no longer speaks for them.

"But now I see a change in the leadership under (SUPP president) Dr Sim and (United People's Party president Wong) Soon Koh.

"I ask the Chinese community to give them a chance to come back where it had lost many years," he said, adding both Sim and Wong will be in his state cabinet if they win in the state polls.

Wong was the senior minister in Adenan's last state cabinet.

There are a total 16 Chinese majority seats out of 82 seats in Sarawak. Four of them located in Sibu town - Bawang Assan (53.1 percent Chinese), Pelawan (90.6 percent), Bukit Assek (89.2 percent) and Dudong (53.1 percent).

Two seats near Sibu are Repok and Meradong, constitute 74.2 percent and 53.7 percent Chinese respectively.

Adenan was repeating his rhetoric of two days ago when he told the Chinese in Kuching to vote for SUPP if they wanted a Chinese deputy chief minister.

The same argument was shared by Wong back in 2011 state poll following the defeat of SUPP by a mere 398 majority vote in 2010 Sibu by-election.

In defending his seat, Wong had asked the people to vote for him to preserve the only Chinese minister in the area.

The federal government had halted Sibu Airport extension projects once, as BN was unhappy that Sibu voters supported the late Sarawak DAP chief Wong Ho Leng in the Sibu by-election, he said.