SUPP’s statement on getting seven seats in GE14 ‘premature’, says Lo

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George Lo

KUCHING: United People’s Party (UPP) secretary-general George Lo believes that it is premature for Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) to say that they will definitely get seven seats in the next parliamentary election.

“In my view, it is premature for anyone to say that they will definitely get seven seats just as it was premature before the last Sarawak State Election in 2016 for them to say that they will get 21 seats and would not accept a seat less,” Lo said in a press statement today.

He was responding to SUPP president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian’s statement on Saturday that his party had received assurance from Barisan Nasional (BN) at the national-level that they will contest in all its seven traditional seats during the next general election.

Dr Sim said based on the last national BN supreme council meeting on Sept 8, the current seat allocation formula would remain unchanged. The seven seats are Bandar Kuching, Stampin, Serian, Sarikei, Sibu, Lanang and Miri.

According to Lo, the political reality today dictates that the BN coalition must field the most winnable candidates.

“The concept of a hereditary seat that will go to a party regardless of its candidates’ chances of winning is now over. This is clearly evidenced by the last Sarawak state elections where the late Chief Minister Pehin Sri Tan Sri Adenan Satem fielded direct candidates from BN friendly parties like UPP and UPP was able to deliver 72 per cent success in the seats it contested.

“To this day, UPP leaders hold key positions in the State Cabinet and local government positions. This proves that UPP is and has always been part of the BN family.”

In noting that UPP has submitted its list of candidates to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg in respect of the forthcoming Parliamentary election, Lo said the party trusts the wisdom of the prime Minister and chief Minister to pick the most winnable candidates for each constituency.

“UPP believes that, this time around, BN has a formula to select the most winnable candidate for each constituency. We have faith that the candidates that we have put forward to the prime minister and chief minister are the most winnable candidates. We leave it to the BN leadership to make the final decision on the choice of candidates.”

UPP president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said last month that UPP had named Dato Andrew Wong for the constituency of Sibu and Andrew Ting for the constituency of Lanang.

“The prime minister and chief minister have requested us to forward potential candidates for the coming general election to them,” Soon Koh was quoted as saying then.

Soon Koh, who is Second Finance Minister and Minister of International Trade and E-Commerce, said the top BN leadership had hopes that UPP could win two or three Chinese-majority seats for BN this general election.

“BN top leadership wants to wrest back Sibu and Lanang seats besides other Chinese majority seats. For that, we need to do early preparation and step up out strategy to ensure that UPP will win the seats entrusted to us to contest.”