By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, March 12: Lina Soo asserts she is still the rightful Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) president and has elected a set of new committee members to replace the seven individuals who she alleges acted against her unconstitutionally on Feb 12.
In a press conference today, Soo announced that these seven persons who have ceased to be party members with immediate effect under the party constitution’s Clause 7(2) or 5(3) or both, were Simon Tiong Ing Tung, Lau Pang Heng, Thomas Kiew Hen Yew, Josephine Lau Kiew Prng, Loh Wui Ping, George Young Si Ricord Junior and Andygie Gines.
She said that all seven persons were issued show cause letters in writing on Feb 15 2023, giving them 14 days to explain why their membership should not be terminated, revoked or nullified.
“Our party Aspirasi’s registered address had no record of any reply or response from anyone of them within 14 days or all,” she told reporters at the press conference here after the party’s annual general meeting (AGM) today.
“Having undertaken due procedural process of terminating party membership under the Clause 7(2) of the party’s constitution and the Society Act 1966, the Majlis Tertinggi (supreme council) and Jawatankuasa Kerja Pusat (central working committee), the party terminates the membership of the seven persons,” she said.
Soo also reiterated her claim as the party’s incumbent president, as she was elected at the party election on Oct 10, 2021, and her tenure with the rest of the elected committee ends on Oct 9, 2026.
She added that with the membership termination of the seven persons, they have a few key positions vacant in the party.
“This committee will serve from Oct 10, 2021 to Oct 9, 2026, but we could have an earlier election in 2026. I want to stress that this is not a party election but to fill the vacant key posts. Those who want to claim to be any party official is a fraud,” she added.
She also revealed that the new committee members are chairwoman Jane Dripin, deputy chairman Rosli Lambeng, secretary-general Hugh Lawrence Zhender, assistant secretary-general Llamun Kambeng, treasure Tan Kok Chiang, assistant treasure Jasemin Zuraida and information chief Jilen Kion.
The executive Central Working Committee chairman is the newly elected party chairman by default of the party chairman. They will all serve their tenure until the party election in 2026.
Soo alleged that the ‘new’ committee elected during the purported annual general meeting on Feb 12 and who removed her as party president was not legitimate and went against the constitution and the law.
During that AGM meeting, she claimed, there was not enough quorum and it should not have been carried out as it was not constitutional, but it still went on.
“We informed the Registrar of Societies after lodging a police report to say that there was an unconstitutional meeting purportedly by a group of people who were not party members and had run an unconstitutional meeting,” she explained.
“So by the constitution, we have to have another AGM after 30 days, and that it is today, and we terminated (the positions of) these seven people and filled the vacant key positions of the party,” she added. — DayakDaily
