KUCHING, August 11: The Central Committee (CC) of Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) today gave a resounding “yes” to party president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to lead the ruling coalition in the next state election, which must be held by May 2021.
SUPP secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting said the CC members discussed at length the party’s future when they met at the party headquarters here this afternoon.
“For us, it’s a definite ‘yes’ to the leadership of GPS chairman and to SUPP president to lead us forward towards 2021,” Ting told reporters after the CC’s meeting.
Ting, who is also Piasau assemblyman, said the meeting also discussed the formation of GPS and how SUPP could build its strength through this local alliance.
“We discussed about the formation of GPS. It is not a matter of joining; it is a matter of formation of GPS. This is Round 1 of the discussion on the formation of GPS. The final decision will be held tomorrow, where 404 delegates will be present to decide,” he said.
On a related issue, Ting said the meeting did not discuss about United People’s Party (UPP).
Overall, he said it was a fruitful and “fantastic” meeting, where a lot of party matters were discussed, including the way forward.
On the meeting this morning, Ting said it was a post-mortem of the party’s performance in the 14 general election. The party contested seven parliamentary seats in the May 9 polls but only won one.
“You all know why we (BN/SUPP) lost. Everyone knows why we lost. It is due to national issues,” he said, adding that the results of its post-mortem were confidential.
Today, the party held its post-mortem meeting in the morning and the CC meeting in the afternoon. Tomorrow, its annual delegates’ conference will be held, and the 404 delegates are expected to deliberate on major issues, including the party’s direction. — DayakDaily
