KUCHING: SUPP president Tan Sri Peter Chin’s reported suggestion to pass the baton to his deputy Datuk Richard Riot Jaem will not rejuvenate the party.
SUPP Bengoh chairman Dr Jerip Susil said this move, which was reported by several Chinese newspapers recently, would make the situation in the party worse.
He said Chin must remember that the party was now in two parts, and any action taken without consulting the other faction would never be in the interest of party unity.
“If the statement as reported by the Chinese press was true, and Chin was quoted correctly, then he is obviously going against his own words.
“On many occasions, he told everyone that he was pursuing reconciliation by trying to put two hands together to reunite the party, but now he is making a decision without even consulting our group. This is a very unwise move by him.”
Dr Jerip, who is also Assistant Public Health Minister and Bengoh assemblyman, was speaking on behalf of his faction that is led by SUPP Sibu branch chairman cum Minister of Local Government and Community Development Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh.
Other members in the faction are assemblymen Datuk Francis Hardin Hollis (Simanggang), Datuk Lee Kim Shin (Senadin), Ranum Mina (Opar) and Dr Johnical Rayong (Engkilili).
Dr Jerip said getting Riot, who is also Human Resources Minister, to helm the party would make the situation worse since the Registrar of Societies (ROS) had yet to announce its decision on the alleged irregularities reported by several branches in the run-up to the party’s triennial delegates’ conference (TDC) in 2011.
“So, at the moment, pending the decision by ROS, any suggestion or decision made by the party is not in the spirit of what the authority is doing.”
Several months ago, the ROS served show-cause letters on two branches, and the party had replied.
However, ROS had yet to announce its decision.