Needed – a new platform for SUPP
The 51-year-old SUPP needs more than a reconciliation between its two factions to survive in this new-age politics.
SUPP, which is just over 50 years old, has stubbornly refused to evolve with the changing political styles. It paid a heavy price in the April state election last year when it lost 13 seats to opposition DAP.
Free Malaysia Today
Fractured Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) needs more than a “reconciliation” between its new president Peter Chin and former secretary-general Wong Soon Koh’s factions to ensure its continued survival in politics.
If nothing else, the party needs a new platform, and a retired teacher here believes that education and an “opportunity to freely express themselves” will do the trick.
According to Vincent Huang, SUPP needs a whole new platform that takes into consideration the changes that have swept national and state level politics since the 2006 Sarawak polls and the 2008 general election.
“People today are no longer limited to traditional media to get information, so they must be given a good platform to express themselves freely.
“SUPP should be turned into a platform that is useful to the people. It must attract people with the right attitude and who are interested in serving the people and not just use the party to get rich,” he said during a talk on the party’s revival.
Huang noted that what was interesting was the fact that large crowds flock to campaigns by the opposition.
“Have you wondered why? Why are people attracted to the alternative platforms and not the government platform despite freebies being distributed?
“It’s not that all the opposition candidates are good speakers. At first, they are bad speakers but they learn to improve themselves by just trying.
“SUPP must allow for such opportunities for its members. The party must take the initiative to talk and listen to the people,” he said, adding that allowing members to express themselves would be a useful start for the party which has in the past been accused of suppressing the voices of its members.
Self-destructive mode
SUPP, which is just over 50 years old, has stubbornly refused to evolve with the changing political styles. It paid a heavy price in the April state election last year when it lost 13 seats to opposition DAP.
The loss was not sudden. Party insiders claimed that indications were already here during the 2006 polls. SUPP lost eight seats.
In last year’s state polls, SUPP retained only six seats of the 19 seats it contested.
Wong retained Bawang Assan and Lee Kim Shin held on to Senadin. Four other constituencies were won by the party’s Dayak representatives – Francis Harden (Simanggang), Ranum Mina (Opar,) Johnical Rayong (Engkilili) and Jerip Susil (Bengoh).
The defeat, along with serious infighting, pushed the party to the brink of destruction.
SUPP now faces the possibility of being deregistered after Wong lodged a report with the Registrar of Society (ROS), claiming irregularities in the party’s branch-level elections.
The situation took a turn for the worse when the party’s central committee decided to go ahead and hold its triennial general assembly (TGA) and presidential election despite being investigated by ROS.
Wong, who is a senior minister in the state Cabinet, and his five elected representatives, however, boycotted the party polls which saw federal minister Peter Chin elected in as its new president. Wong was also poised to contest the presidency.
Since then Wong and his team have been in the wings, sticking to their position that any move to reconcile differences with Chin’s group must come only after ROS declares the status of the party.
Wong has also refused to recognise Chin’s election, saying that the whole event was illegal.
