SARIKEI: Members of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) here who are aligned to Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh’s faction described the action taken by the party’s Central Working Committee to expel three of their colleagues as most uncalled for.
In their speeches during a gathering at a restaurant here yesterday, they expressed regret over the CWC’s action to sack Chan Phan Chan who is Sarikei District Council chairman, Penghulu Sia Jii Ming and Kapitan Wong Yew Nung from the party at a time when reconciliation and consolidation between the feuding factions was being mediated by the chief minister.
They unanimously called on the CWC to revoke the expulsion letters issued to the three members.
If the leaders from the rival faction were sincere in saving the party from deregistration, they should allow the reconciliation and consolidation process to take its course, councillor Stevenson Giri who spoke on behalf of the Iban members said.
“It was relieving to read a report in last Wednesday newspaper that Chief Minister Tan Sri (Datuk Amar) Adenan Satem announced the reconciliation of the two feuding factions in SUPP paving the way for an end of the internal crisis besetting the party since its last Triennial Delegates Conference in 2011,” Giri said.
However, hardly a day after the good news, he was shocked to hear that three of his colleagues received the expulsion letters from the CWC, he lamented, adding the confusing state of affairs had made him sceptical of the party’s destiny.
Several Chinese community leaders and councillors took turns to express their regrets over the CWC’s uncalled-for action and to show their undivided support to Soon Koh’s leadership.
Thanking the supporters for their show of concern, Chan hoped the CWC would respect the voice and rights of every member as well as to show respect to the state’s top BN leaders, the chief minister in particular for being concerned with the problems faced by the party.
“When the leaders talk about reconciliation and consolidation they should not do anything detrimental which could jeopardise the process at the same time,’ Chan asserted.