Is SUPP following the way of SNAP and PBDS?

Kuching (Dec 4, 2011): After Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), will it be the turn of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) to be deregistered by the Registrar of Societies (RoS)?

Will the deregistration of SUPP lead to the formation of a new Chinese-based multi-racial party in Sarawak?

There are already speculations on the formation of a new party to be formed by a group in SUPP.

Is this group taking a leaf from the deregistration of SNAP and PBDS, and then proceed to form a new party?

SNAP and PBDS were both deregistered following the failures to resolve their respective leadership tussles.

SNAP, formed in 1961, was deregistered in 2002, and in a judicial review last year, the Court of Appeal quashed the RoS order.

A SNAP breakaway group, led by Social Development Minister Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom, then the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).

PBDS, established in 1983, was dissolved twice, firstly in 2003 and secondly in 2004.
The dissolution of PBDS led to the formation of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), led by Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing.
Complaints of alleged irregularities in SNAP and PBDS were lodged with the RoS before they were deregistered.
It can be assumed that, SUPP, Sarawak’s oldest political party, being formed in 1959, could be following the way of SNAP and PBDS.
RoS has received numerous complaints of alleged irregularities in the elections in some of the branches.
“When complaints have been received, RoS have to act and that means the deregistration of the party,” a political analyst observed.
But the deregistration of the party could be prevented if the two rival factions – the Datuk  Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui and Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh – could reach an amicable solution to end the tussle before the party’s triennial general meeting (TGM) scheduled for Dec 10 and 11.

Both Chin, the Federal Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, and Wong, the State Minister of Local Government and Community Development, are both aiming to be the next president of the party, replacing Tan Sri Dr George Chan, who has indicated that he will be stepping down.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Wong said his faction was not to blame should RoS decide to take action, including deregistering  the party.

Wong’s faction has lodged complaints with the RoS on irregularities at the branch elections.

“We want secretary-general Datuk Sim Kheng Hui and the party’s central election committee to act on the complaints before the TGM,” he said.

Since some branches had lodged complaints to the ROS and also the police, Wong said he did not discount the possibility that the RoS might even decide to ask the party to postpone the TGM or have the party deregistered.

“The last thing we want is to see that our party gets deregistered. They (Sim and central election committee) have to rectify all these irregularities. The TGM is in a matter of days, so the ROS will have to make some decision.

“We leave it to ROS, we won’t know (what actions to be taken),” Wong, the party’s deputy secretary-general, said.

Asked what if the ROS decided to deregister the party, he responded: “Cannot blame us.”

Wong led a group of his supporters meeting the ROS deputy director general Fison Yahaya and Deputy Home Minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong in Putrajaya on Thursday last week.

Wong, who is SUPP deputy secretary-general, asserted that their main purpose of meeting up with ROS was to seek advice and to clarify with them on the complaints lodged by the branches.

To another question, Wong denied suggestions that the group had met ROS with the view of setting up a new party. “Definitely no.”

It is learnt that ROS had sent out two letters to the party’s secretary-general after receiving complaints from party branches, including Pending Branch, Kuching Branch, Sarikei Branch, Kanowit Branch, Bintangor Branch and others.

 Meanwhile, it was reported in the Chinese press that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had told Dr Chan, a former Deputy Chief Minister, to bring the Chin and Wong factions to the negotiation table.

Najib, who is also the Barisan Nasional chairman, had told Dr Chan, who was then attending the opening of the Umno general assembly last week, to mediate between the warring factions.

Dr Chan said for a start, the two factions must stop issuing statements in the press.

“They seem to be washing dirty linens in public, making all kind of accusations,” he said.

ends