KUCHING, June 30: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) will be holding a special delegates’ conference this August 12, and dissenting voices will not be muffled, assured its president, Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian.
“In any political party, it is only right to have a dissenting voice. If not, we will be making the same mistakes as in the past.
“Dissenting voices are normal in any democratic process, and in democratic countries, it’s the majority that decides. In our case, it is our members,” reasoned Dr Sim, who is also Minister of Local Government and Housing.
He said this to reporters after presenting minor rural project (MRP) funds to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the party headquarters today. So far this year, Dr Sim, as Batu Kawah assemblyman, has disbursed MRP funds to 993 NGOs. Last year, the party disbursed MRP funds to 3,000 NGOs.
Asked about the relevance of SUPP to the Chinese community now that the party is part of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Dr Sim replied that GPS was still a “work in progress”.
He added that the GPS working committee was fine-tuning the constitution, but he believed the local pact would be an inclusive coalition.
Youth and Women chiefs, for instance, would be in the GPS supreme council, he revealed. Previously, only presidents and vice-presidents were in the supreme council, he said.
On the proposed merger of SUPP and United People’s Party (UPP), Dr Sim said currently there were more urgent and important matters to address, especially after the May 9 polls.
“After the election, there were so many changes. We do not have time to relook at the whole thing yet.” — DayakDaily
