The President speech at today’s 55th anniversary celebration

suppadmin | June 4, 2014

SPEECH FOR YBHG. TAN SRI PETER CHIN FAH KUI PRESIDENT OF SARAWAK UNITED PEOPLES’PARTY IN CONJUNCTION WITH SUPP 55TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

SUPP is 55 years old on 4th June. It is most appropriate at this juncture of our Party’ glorious history to reaffirm our belief in the objectives which our Party had steadfastly adhered to ever since 4th June, 1959 when our Party was granted registration as a political organisation. Our commitment to these objectives is unshaken. Our founders and subsequent leaders at all levels have contributed and left their marks in our Party’s history. These leaders have made great sacrifices for our party. There were others who spent the most useful part of their life to serve the party in not so glamourous ways (as ordinary cadres) throughout the State. It is their contributions (leaders and ordinary cadres) that have ensured our party survives for 55 years.

SUPP is the oldest political party in Sarawak and let us not forget this fact! UMNO, the oldest political organisation in Malaysia, celebrated its 68th Anniversary recently so SUPP is not that far behind. True we do not have the resources of BN parties such as UMNO, MCA or PBB but our leaders and members have unwavering belief in our party’s objectives, the most important of which is to create a fair, just and equal society for all. I strongly believe that SUPP will ultimately survive no matter what our enemies try to do to destroy us.

In recent years, however, I am sad to have witnessed an assertion of selfish and unprincipled members as well as leaders whose behaviour and utterances betrayed their disloyalty to the party and what it stands for. It is sad indeed to see some leaders acting as if they were more important than the party. They demanded from others personal loyalty rather than royalty to the party. These members have caused incalculable harm to the party. Our party must ensure that if any member or leader cannot accede to collective leadership and responsibility within the party but choose to glorify oneself, he or she must leave the party or else the party’s unity and political strength will be gone. For long term stability and progress of the party, every member and leader must accept that the party matters most. There cannot be a conflict between personal and party interest! If there was, the party’s interest must always prevail.

It is indeed sad to see the former Sibu Branch leader, Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, leading a group of members, especially from Sibu Branch, resigning as members of the party and joining TERAS, a newly formed Sarawak based party. I had taken note that some leaders who resigned were members for long years. What has the Party Central leadership done to cause them to completely loose faith and believe in SUPP? I must confess that I cannot understand these members’ decision to leave the party!

Barisan Nasional leadership in Sarawak needs to be firm in rejecting leaders and members who “jump or hop” from one BN party to another newly formed party in the believe that they can lead this other party to secure a membership within BN. By accepting these people into BN is to encourage such acts of disloyalty to BN parties. No doubt such an unhealthy practise which will eventually destroy the very fabric of the BN organisation. BN Sarawak as well as BN Nasional must send the correct message to everyone that it is not acceptable for “rebels” of BN member parties to simply get together to form a political party and expect to join the ruling BN coalition.

The next State elections are just months away. In order to do well the State BN must be able to create a good platform for every BN party. The present political environment is not conducive to ensure the best possible outcomes for every BN party unless TERAS is not allowed to field candidates in constituencies presently held by TERAS leaders who had jumped or hopped from either SUPP or SPDP. TERAS can field candidates in the next elections but as an opposition party! SUPP supports the principle of choosing “winnable” candidates but this must be subjected to another even more important principle and that is seats that are traditionally allocated to BN parties must remain with the BN parties unless they do no want such seats anymore. In SUPP’s case the party has 19 State seats and 7 Parliament seats; these seats must remain with SUPP.

YB Dr Sim Kui Hian’s appointment as Senator will mean that SUPP can now rely on ONE MORE voice in the Parliament and at where the corridors of powers are i.e. Putrajaya. Together with our Deputy President, YB Dato Sri Richard Riot who is also a Federal Minister, SUPP’s voice will be much louder. We can depend on them to speak ‘without fear or favour’ on behalf of all Sarawakians.

At State level we used to have a good spread of representation throughout the State. Untill 30th April we had Bengoh, Opar, Engkilili and Bawang Assan YBs but they had resigned to join TERAS! We not only lost these YBs but we also lost a Senior Minister and an Assistant Minister in the process. What is most regretfull is the way these YBs treated our SUPP, the Party which had supported them and given them the opportunities to develop their political careers. With an announcement on the 30th April, they chose to severe all ties with SUPP as a result of which our Party can no longer rely on these YBs to speak on behalf of the Party. Because these YBs won their seats under the SUPP/BN banners, it is their moral duties to resign immediately their seats and hand them back to SUPP. If they claim they are so popular, then let the voters decide who should represent them in an election. SUPP needs these seats so these YBs should not hang on to these seats and yet claim to be members of TERAS which is not a BN member party. SUPP has many members who can win these seats for BN.