KUCHING: Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud yesterday assured Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) of the state Barisan Nasional’s support to return the party into a formidable force.
Taib, who is state BN chairman and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) president, said he was happy that SUPP wanted to bounce back and transform itself after reaching its lowest ebb in its history in the 2006 state elections.
“Thank God. Today SUPP has shaken itself out of self-denial mode …you know your friends in Barisan Nasional will not allow you (SUPP) to fall.
“When SUPP was attacked, PBB will come to the front and defend you. The other parties want to support you …we stand together to build politics of development. We fight to defend SUPP because we believe SUPP is part of the effort to build a solid majority,” he said when speaking at the opening of the SUPP Convention here.
He hoped SUPP would continue defending its moderate stance and role in politics of development to bring more Chinese representation in the state government. He pointed out that SUPP needed to be formidable again and regain the seven Chinese-majority seats that were lost in 2006.
“SUPP needs to work together with the BN parties to bring the people to move forward in unison as we target to become the most developed and richest state by 2030,” he said.
He said he had huge confidence in the state becoming the richest state in Malaysia by 2030 and that the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) would edge the state closer towards reaching the target.
The SUPP Convention, attended by around 6,000 delegates, was declared open by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Meanwhile, SUPP president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan said the first thing that SUPP did after the 2006 dismal performance was to sit up and accept the fact that it lost certain support, especially in Kuching.
He said the party had since come up with a strategy for reform and restructuring called the Forward Plan and made substantial successes.