‘Direct election proposal an idea worth pursuing’

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KUCHING: Amendments to the party’s constitution is required before the proposal for direct election for its leadership can be considered, said a SUPP insider yesterday.

“The proposal has to be agreed upon by the delegates during the Triennial Delegates Conference (TDC). But even if it is agreed upon, the party will still need to submit the proposal to the Registrar of Societies (RoS).”

The insider said this when asked to comment on a news report yesterday which quoted SUPP vice-president Datuk Yong Khoon Seng as urging the party to consider emulating Umno and MCA in having direct election.

Yong said he believed a direct election would help boost the morale of delegates and create a new image for the party.

The insider added that it was most unlikely for the proposed direct election to take place during the party’s TDC this coming December due to the long processes the proposal had to go through.

In the present two-tier election system, the central committee members select their central working committee (CWC) members, who will later decide on leadership posts, including that of the president.

Meanwhile, a senior party leader, when contacted by The Borneo Post, said he had no objection to the idea of direct election so long as it was constitutionally done and carried out based on general consensus.

However party president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan, when contacted by See Hua Daily News, declined to comment.