ROS urged to give SUPP due consideration

 

Posted on February 7, 2012, Tuesday

KUCHING: Some grassroots members of SUPP are keeping their fingers crossed that the Registrar of Societies (ROS) will be kind, lenient and sensitive when making its decision on the alleged branch election irregularities besieging the party.

Prominent lawyer Lim Lian Kee opined that SUPP was still relevant to society.“Forming a new party to replace SUPP will only make matters worse. Whether we like it or not, the party represents people from all walks of life.

A lot of people, regardless of their race, look up to it to solve their problems.”Lim appealed to the ROS to be lenient and considerate to SUPP considering the situation it is in right now.“In case anybody has committed some technical problems, I hope the ROS will not deregister the party immediately.”Lim added that as an ordinary member of SUPP he hoped the ROS would look at all factors and not “just one side of the coin” before making their decision.

Another SUPP member, Dr Chou Chii Ming, said he believed the ROS might ask the party to hold another round of branch elections and triennial delegates’ conference (TDC) to resolve the impasse.“ROS just has to handle SUPP with care.”Chou said he did not believe that deregistering SUPP would augur well for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN)’s future because there were other political factors at play in the current scenario.

He believed the ROS would only make known its findings after the 13th general election, which is expected to be called soon even though the term of the current Parliament ends only on April 24 next year.Making its move only after the general election would give time and space for all the warring factions to patch up for the sake of the Chinese community.“It appears that ROS is giving time to SUPP.

So, now is the best time for the two factions to sit down and negotiate on matters pursuant to the next general election.”SUPP is now basically split into two factions, one headed by recently-elected president Datuk Seri Peter Chin while the other by SUPP Sibu branch chairman Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh. Chin is also Miri MP and Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, while Wong is Bawang Assan assemblyman, Second Finance Minister and Minister of Local Government and Community Development.Publicly, Wong has the backing of six other elected representatives while Chin has two MPs supporting him.In Wong’s camp are Lanang MP Datuk Tiong Thai King and assemblymen Datuk Francis Harden Hollis (Simanggang), Datuk Lee Kim Shin (Senadin), Dr Jerip Susil (Bengoh), Dr Johnical Rayong Ngipa (Engkilili) and Ranum Mina (Opar).Chin has Serian MP Datuk Richard Riot Jaem and Sarikei MP Ding Kuong Hiing with him.SUPP’s other MP, Datuk Yong Khoon Seng, who had announced numerous times that he won’t be seeking re-election in the 13th general election, is generally considered a fence sitter.All members in Wong’s group are still party members but they are distancing themselves from party matters and preferred to await the findings of the ROS before making their next move.

During the party’s TDC, which was held here from Dec 9 to 11 last year, all of them boycotted it. The TDC was declared opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.