A deputy minister in Unity Govt may come from SUPP, says party man

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Dato Sim Kiang Chiok

KUCHING (Dec 7): It is possible that an MP from Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) will be included in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s deputy ministers list in the spirit of the national unity government, said the party’s Stakan branch chief Dato Sim Kiang Chiok.

Sim said SUPP has been the most maligned party by the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and although DAP has apologised publicly to Sarawakians, its leaders are now selling the story that they have to act nice to get Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s (GPS) cooperation to form the federal government.

“This means that DAP is not sincere in their apology and will say anything to have power. To prove their sincerity to GPS, they have to accept that due to their wild accusations and smear campaigns, SUPP may see one MP called up to represent the Sarawak urban voice.

“In view of the current scenario I think the chances are high for this to happen and I think it should happen. The people must understand once and for all that what GPS has been doing is right, and all that they (DAP) have said against GPS is wrong,” he said.

He was asked to comment on reports on the upcoming deputy minister appointments to be made by Anwar soon. This comes after Economic Affairs Minister Rafizi Ramli had said on Tuesday that the appointment of deputy ministers was being finalised now and would be settled in one or two weeks’ time.

Anwar on Friday unveiled a 28-member cabinet for his unity government, comprising 15 from Pakatan Harapan (PH), six from Barisan Nasional (BN), five from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), one from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and a non-politician independent as full ministers.

None of the five ministers appointed from GPS are from SUPP. Three ministers are from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) and one each from Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).

In the 15th General Elections last month, SUPP won two of the seven seats contested. The two MPs from SUPP now are Serian MP Dato Sri Richard Riot and Sarikei MP Dato Sri Huang Tiong Sii.

According to Sim again, DAP Sarawak should not be given a deputy minister post due to what they did to the GPS government and the people of Sarawak.

“It is obvious that the people are disillusioned because the enemies are together now and it all seems like a dream so to make things clear, the deputy ministers list should also include SUPP.

“For our GPS MPs to be appointed as deputy ministers is like having the voice of Sarawak enhanced in the federal government. It will bring  more benefits such as more development allocation or funding for our needs to be a developed state,” said Sim.