KUCHING, Aug 4: SUPP Dudong Youth has hit back at PDP Dudong chairman Cr Teo Boon Siew for behaving like ‘termite’ over his comments about SUPP being no longer popular in Dudong constituency even though it was SUPP’s traditional seat.
Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Dudong branch Youth chief Benjamin Tian thus urged Teo to refrain from making this sort of statement which could create disunity among the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties.
“SUPP Youth strongly disagree. We would like to remind Councillor Teo Boon Siew to take heed of the advice of our Chief Minister (Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg) who said that GPS needed unity and consensus of politics.
“The Chief Minister also said that GPS rejected ‘termites’. The open statement by Councillor Teo is tantamount to the behaviour of a termite in GPS,” he said in a statement today.
Teo, who is also Progressive Democractic Party (PDP) senior vice president, was reported by Utusan Borneo yesterday (Aug 3) to have said that even after four elections had been held, the 10th State Election in 2011 (PRN10), 13th General Election in 2013 (GE13), PRN11 in 2016 and GE14 in 2018, but SUPP records were not encouraging.
Going through the candidates’ performances, Teo added that based on the records of the last four elections, it showed that the voters’ support for SUPP in Dudong constituency has faded.
Tian elaborated that in GE14, Kelvin Kong was the candidate representing BN (Barisan Nasional)/SUPP in P211 Lanang but due to the 1MDB case, BN lost almost all the urban seats in Malaysia.
“However, in Dudong constituency which is one of the state seats under P211 Lanang, Kong still managed to procure 11,179 votes in Dudong constituency and lost to PH candidate by a mere 2,436 votes.
“We are very confident that under the leadership of our Chief Minister, GPS/SUPP will recapture Dudong constituency in the coming state election. We say now that the 11,179 voters are the diehard supporters of GPS/SUPP in N52 Dudong,” he emphasised.
In return, Tian pointed out that in the 2016 State Election, three BN direct candidates who won the Bekenu (Rosey Yunos) , Batu Danau (Paulus Palu Gumbang) and Pakan (Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom) seats have joined other component parties of GPS.
“This include Clarence Ting Ing Horh as Sibu Municipal Council chairman, Robert Lau Hui Yew as a senator, Datuk Chieng Buong Toon as Sibu Urban Renewal advisor and the most recent one was the appointment of our branch chairman Wong Ching Yong as Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) deputy chairman which has political significance as the appointment was endorsed by Sarawak Cabinet,” he said.
Meanwhile, Teo also advised that SUPP Dudong leaders should not use history as an excuse to monopolise the Dudong seat and that they also have no right to defend the seat if it is no longer capable or relevant.
“Don’t just prioritise on the agenda of one party because SUPP and PDP are partners in GPS. Both parties have to compromise and work together to ensure the victory of GPS.
“If SUPP cannot get (the Dudong seat), what’s wrong with giving the opportunity to PDP because we are one family and component partners?,” he added. —DayakDaily
