KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian has a sobering message for party members as the euphoria surrounding its triumph in last month’s state election begins to subside.
He wants them to not get carried away but to dig in for the long haul by embracing challenges on the political horizon especially in view of the forthcoming 15th General Election (GE15).
“If you look at the state election in December last year, firstly, Sarawakians decisively rejected West Malaysia-based parties, there is no question about that,” he said in his opening remarks at SUPP’s Annual Delegates Conference 2021 at its headquarters on Sunday (Jan 16).
“And one of the reasons that SUPP won was because some Chinese voters came back but some bumiputera voters also ran away,” he said.
He added that if it were not for the splitting of votes among opposition parties, SUPP would not have won some of the seats.
In the election SUPP won 13 out of 18 seats it contested, contributing to the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition’s 76-seat victory.
“Yes, we are very happy. But I want our party members to be on the ground to address things that matter because we put the people’s interest first.
“We lost a bit of direction in the past, but now we have bounced back. So, I need your support to be with me, together we will look after the people of Sarawak,” he said.
In his address Dr Sim also underscored the importance of the implementation of Undi 18 (lowering of voting age from 21 to 18) and the automatic voter registration (AVR).
Calling on the party to never take the young for granted, he reminded members to continue working hard to reach out to them.
At the same time Dr Sim said the party must also not lose sight of the older group of voters.
He said although those in the 50 to 60 age group were not as decisive as the younger ones, the party must continue to engage with the middle-aged group.
“So, we need to work hard and go with the momentum,” he said.
“In this parliamentary election, make sure that SUPP, a component of GPS, has more seats so that Serian MP Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem (of SUPP) would not be lonely in parliament.”
Dr Sim, who is Deputy Chief Minister, said more MPs from Sarawak would mean they could continue to gain back Sarawak’s rights.
“GPS has to be very strong so that no one ever bullies Sarawak again. Give us another 10 years, things that we could not do over 60 years, will be done,” he said.
To be able to achieve this, he said, party members must continue to remain united and not repeat mistakes of the past.
“It took so long for us from 2006 to bounce back to where we are today. Let’s not destroy it if we love the party, love Sarawak, otherwise you are traitors,” he said.
At the same time, he said the party must also prepare to face the next state election in 2027 as more new seats were expected.
“We need to think and act beyond what it is now. We have a lot of work to do inside the party,” he added.
