Branch election to go ahead

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ELECTION TO GO AHEAD: Lau (centre), with SUPP Sibu top officials at the press conference.

SIBU: High Court sets aside injunction stopping Sibu SUPP branch from holding election tomorrow.

The High Court here has set aside an earlier interim injunction order to stop SUPP branch here from holding its election tomorrow.

The interim injunction order was made by Justice Yew Jen Kie who ruled that the branch could hold the annual general meeting, but not the election.

The injunction order was filed by the so-called SUPP Dudong branch Revival Committee members Huong Haw Ching and Peter Hii yesterday morning through legal counsels David Kuok and Orlando Chua.

With the setting aside of the injunction, SUPP Sibu branch is expected to go ahead with its election tomorrow.

In a press conference, SUPP Sibu assistant treasurer Robert Lau Hui Yew said the High Court had set aside the earlier granted injunction after considering the Rules of the High Court Order 29, Rule 1 (2C), Section 18C of the Societies Act 1966 and Section 11 of the party’s constitution.

He said both High Court Order 29, Rule 1 (2C) and the Societies Act 1966 Section 18C prohibited party members from going to the court to seek an ex parte injunction and to stop the party from conducting an election.

Furthermore, he said, the party constitution also clearly prohibited party members from bringing party matters to court.

“Based on those factors, the judge granted our application and set aside the injunction filed by the two party members,” he said.

Lau, who is also a legal adviser to the party, said it was obvious that the two party members, Hwong and Hii, tried to create an incident on nomination day on Nov 12 to stop Sibu branch from conducting its election.

On nomination day, Hwong, together with 10 others, had their nomination papers disqualified because all the forms were riddled with mistakes.

The nomination committee sent a text message to Hwong and called him several times to return to the SUPP nomination centre to do the corrections, but the calls were unanswered.

Lau said the duo knew that they had little chance to succeed in getting the injunction. Hii had in 2008 failed in his application for a court injunction, Lau recalled.

“But they still proceeded to apply to the court to seek an injunction to stop the Sibu branch main committee election.

“Furthermore, they were doing it at the last minute, thinking that there would not be sufficient time for us to counter attack. They were proven wrong,” Lau said.

Party members in somber mood over injunction

Party members at the SUPP headquarters were all in somber mood when they were told the court had granted the interim injunction to the two members from the other side of their party struggles.

But soon, they erupted in jubilation when Lau appeared to tell them about the court’s second decision. Shouts of Saiti reverberated across the room.

Among those present were party leaders including Datuk Tiong Thai King, Vincent Goh, Andrew Shilling, Daniel Ngieng, Oliver Kuo, Kapitan Datuk Janet Lau and chairmen from the various SUPP sub-branches.

Tiong, meanwhile, wanted the central working committee to take disciplinary action against the two for bringing party matters to court.

He said disciplinary action was necessary to protect the party’s dignity and to deter others from doing the same thing.