RELEVANCY of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) – the topic du jour at a public forum last week – drew very frank comments from the floor.
The views expressed on whether the party could still relate to the political realities in the state, were no music to the ears, as non-pleasantries usually are, but they did hit the nail on the head in dissecting the present state of affairs in the party.
True, some of the things said were not very nice to hear but since when is the truth always nice to hear?
Dr Jeniri Amir, one of the moderators, said the glaring absence of give-and-take in solving the leadership crisis had plummeted the party deeper and deeper into political oblivion.
The senior lecturer from Unimas Faculty of Social Sciences argued that efforts by the state and federal BN leaderships to bring about reconciliation would come to naught if the feuding factions refused to shift their hardline positions to the middle ground.
He said the still unresolved split in SUPP will severely disadvantage the party in next state election two years from now, adding that one way to prevent a repeat of the 2011 debacle (or worse) is for the opposing camps to make peace and save the party.
Jeniri may have not have won many friends in SUPP for his candour but at least, he was gutsy enough to call a spade a spade and say what had to be said to drive home a salient point – that SUPP once had relevancy but has now lost it for being slow to go with the current political flow and adapt to changing times.
Ostensibly, with the internecine still simmering from within, it is highly unlikely the two bickering sides will want to call for a pow wow anytime soon.
Yet to regain lost relevancy, it’s crucial the party looks beyond the present crisis and works towards strengthening its pillars of unity and build on the positives to recoup lost electoral ground and bolster its dwindling representation in the ruling coalition.
A strong and relevant SUPP can better fulfill the aspirations of the Chinese community it vows to serve, and ultimately win back their trust and remain relevant as their elected representatives.
Interestingly, a Democratic Action Party (DAP) member at the forum made a comment you normally would not hear from the opposition.
The member said DAP “needs SUPP to survive and thrive rather than being left with little contention.”
“As the DAP, we do not want to see SUPP go down. There is no way we want to lose our old rival, let alone the need to see it stay strong. The stronger our rival, the better we may grow,” he added.
It’s rare, if not unheard of, for a party in opposition to want a party in government to “survive and thrive.” One would have thought the opposite is true.
It all sounds rather strange. Perhaps, the DAP member was throwing a tacit dare to SUPP to bring it on come 2016. How SUPP will – or can – respond remains to be seen.
SUPP vice-president Datuk Lily Yong, who also moderated at the forum, agreed the views put forth were food for serious thought, saying public opinion matters and the party should not dismiss it lightly.
She said the message is clear – Stop Fighting – we want a political party that fights for us, not among themselves.
Indeed, to ensure relevancy, a political party must maintain a consistently efficient track record of public service – and for longevity, it should avoid self-destruction from the implosion of factional strife.
Another feedback is that SUPP must have the political will to solve its own problems rather than relying on others as there is a limit to what a mediator can do.
Yong said the real action had to come from within, stressing there is still time to patch up.
But to do this, SUPP must first extricate itself from the quagmire of divisiveness on the basis of a genuine mutual desire from the squabbling factions to bury the hatchet for the common good.
Former SUPP vice-president Datuk Yong Khoon Seng is holding out hopes of a thaw to the drawn out standoff, saying “it’s still not too late to take a step back to make room for reconciliation.”
He suggested the party should learn from the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) which has reinstated four of the G5 members “in the interest of the party above all else.”
People are saying the crisis in SUPP has gone on for far too long and it’s time to seriously consider reconciling, rebuilding and moving forward in unity – not getting stuck interminably in disarray.
Lily Yong – when asked whether SUPP’s creditable performance of yesterday could be taken as a basis to justify the party’s relevancy of today, replied: “Winning more seats makes us look strong. But even if we lose all the seats, we must be able rejuvenate like a golden phoenix.”
Certainly, rising from the ashes with a renewed sense of solidarity, purpose and direction is better than continuing to wallow in irrelevancy – to the further detriment to the party.