BATU SAPI, Oct 28 — Still struggling to cope with the tragic loss of her husband, the Batu Sapi by-election has been nothing but an emotional trip down memory lane for Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin.
At every street corner she turned, the grieving widow was reminded of her husband, the late Datuk Edmund Chong Ket Wah, by people who knew him and wanted to wish her well.
There were some curious onlookers too, who just wanted to see how well the soft-spoken piano teacher was coping with the intense pressure in her second day of campaigning yesterday.
Instead of the quiet, reflective moments she desperately needs to recover from the tragedy of losing her life partner, Tsen’s world has suddenly been invaded by constant media attention and close public scrutiny.
She travels now in a convoy of cars, comprising a mammoth team of politicians and campaign assistants.
When she sweats, she is immediately handed a towel. When she is thirsty, a bottle of water is placed in her hand. When she flushes from the heat, she is given sunblock lotion to protect her skin from the sun.
She no longer carries her own phone and can no longer speak freely for fear that her words would be spun out of shape by a listening reporter.
The mob of campaigners who surround her is extremely protective and she is immediately whisked away when difficult questions are hurled at her.
Her daily routine has now been invaded by a series of strictly scheduled meetings, visits and functions with constituents, campaigners or top-level politicians.
It has been just over two weeks since her husband’s passing but Tsen has to try her best to wear a smile wherever she goes and put on a brave front.
She still remembers the attention her husband used to receive when she trailed in the background of his election campaigns here during the last two general elections.
Today, that same attention is being showered upon her and in the heat of the sudden intense spotlight, Tsen is slowly finding it difficult to maintain her cool composure.
In a halting voice, the 54-year-old explained that she has had to deal with two deaths in the family this year, the first being that of her father, who died in June at the age of 92.
“It has been challenging... a new chapter in my life. Suddenly, I have to stand on my own two feet and I have to stay strong for my four kids,” she said.
Tsen has four children — daughters Jamie Chong Sing Yi, 23, Charlene Chong Tse Yi, 20, and Steffi Chong Han Yi, 18, and son Douglas Chong Zheng Yi, 13.
She explained that before she was offered as a candidate to replace her husband, she held a long talk with her children.
“They said, ‘okay, mummy. Whatever you do, we will be with you’,” she recalled.
Tsen said that although it was a difficult task, she knew she had to keep moving for it would be of no use to wallow in her misery.
“If I keep quiet everyday, it is not going to help my kids... it is just going to make it worse. Now, they look up to me so I just have to show them that mummy is strong. So, I will have to be strong,” she said.
She added however that she did not want her children to help her in the campaign as she wanted them to concentrate on their own lives and their school work.
“I do not want them to get involved in politics,” she firmly said.
Since Tsen was chosen as a candidate, it has been a hectic journey for her, with a series of meetings with the country’s top politicians and government administrators and since Tuesday, the start of a hectic nine-day campaign trail.
“I am new to this of course... I am always behind my husband in the past but now, I have to stand in front,” she said.
Tsen said she still looked up to her husband and the work he had done for the Batu Sapi constituents, adding that it would not be easy to match up to him.
“But I will definitely work very hard. I would like to meet with as many voters as I can, go to the ground and meet with them.
“I do have the determination to finish what my husband started here,” she said.
“I want to continue all of that,” she pledged.
She noted that the response had been good so far from the Chinese community as many sympathised with her loss.
“I think they kind of feel sad for me, that I lost my husband. So far, so good. But I will keep working,” she said.
When asked what she thought of her competition with a political heavyweight like Sabah Progressive Party’s (SAPP) Datuk Yong Teck Lee, the former Sabah chief minister, Tsen said: “I am just going to try my best. Let the people decide. Whatever the outcome, I will accept it.”
Tsen is also facing PKR’s Ansari Abdullah in a three-way fight for the Batu Sapi seat.
The seat fell vacant after Chong met with a tragic biking accident on October 9.
Batu Sapi has 25,582 voters, including 1,535 postal voters. The constituency near Sandakan has 15,099 Muslim Bumiputera voters (59 per cent of the total); 9,737 Chinese (38 per cent); 698 non-Muslim Bumiputeras (2.69 per cent); and 57 others (0.22 per cent).
Chong had won the seat with a 3,708-vote majority over independent Chung On Wing in Election 2008.
