If you love the party and Sarawak, you will still be kind and supportive of each other instead of sabotaging in the event you are not chosen.
– Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, Deputy Premier and SUPP president
The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) will not be fielding its state assemblymen in any of the 31 parliamentary constituencies in the coming 15th general election (GE15), a move which party president Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian says is in line with the stand of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the backbone of the state’s Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition.
I see Dr Sim’s decision as appropriate because it means elected representatives could better serve their constituents without being bogged down by too many tasks which could result in them losing focus.
His announcement may have caught many – party members as well as supporters – by surprise as there has been talk of the leadership considering the nomination of one or two YBs to face the general election, widely speculated to be held before year end, though it could drag on till February next year.
The president’s swift pre-emptive move has certainly put paid to any plans by members or supporters to lobby for candidacy among existing assemblymen.
It also means that SUPP can now field younger candidates and groom them to take over the leadership when the time comes.
“SUPP will not be fielding state assemblymen from the party to contest in GE15 … this is to make way for new faces.
“We want to be like PBB, if you are an assemblyman then you remain as an assemblyman and likewise if you are a member of parliament.
“There is no need to fight over it, we do not want to be like the opposition who are assemblymen but still want to go for parliamentary seats as well. Double salary but only work once – it is not healthy and there is no chance for us to groom the younger people,” said Dr Sim.
Just to recall, Dr Sim’s party entered the battlefield in the 12th state election last year to at least defend the party’s seven seats which it won out of the 13 it contested in the 2016 state polls. Instead, just like the proverbial phoenix which rose from the ashes, so did SUPP which not only retained its existing seats but also wrested back another six for GPS. It narrowly lost two others, Batu Lintang and Pending. All in all SUPP contested 18 seats.
With an overwhelming state election performance to his credit, Dr Sim is determined to see his party perform equally well in GE15. Hence his decision to field new faces in six of its allocated seven seats.
Only Serian MP Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem will be fielded in the coming polls. But Dr Sim is not revealing if the incumbent will be defending his seat. Richard is a seven-term wakil rakyat, having first won the seat in 1990. His winning margin then was 2,685 votes. In GE14, he won by a 9,905-vote majority in a two-cornered fight, beating a DAP candidate and an Independent.
It is likely that Richard will defend his seat for the eighth time. Anyway, he is winnable.
SUPP won six seats in the 2008 parliamentary election, but could only win one out of the seven seats in 2013 it contested. Five years later in the 14th general election, the party fared no better, retaining only Serian through Richard.
Now that the party has made a commitment to field new faces, voters, especially the Chinese, may see it as a sincere effort by the leadership to prepare the party for the future. Though SUPP touts itself as a multiracial party, its support base is mainly from the Chinese community.
Dr Sim needs to convince both Chinese and the non-Chinese communities that SUPP means business and that given the same level of support it received in the state polls of 2021, the party can win back the lost seats and with increased representation, bring the much needed development to the urban areas.
It just has to convince the voters that it not only can shout as loud as the DAP (in Parliament) but perhaps even louder and go a level up by bringing progress and development to their constituencies which all this while have been neglected by the opposition.
But the party chief may have a tough task to propose the most suitable candidates. He must listen to all sides and include key people in the selection team to help him decide. The candidates must be acceptable to the majority. Of course, there will always be a dissenting voice – though from just among the minority. Well, as the saying goes; you can’t please everyone, but what’s important is the voice of the majority.
Whoever the party picks, the final choice lies with the Big Boss – Premier and GPS chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg who will make a wise decision.
Of course winnability is one criteria to look into, because in politics the numbers game matters; but also don’t forget the candidate’s commitment and sincerity to serve.
Perhaps, even those who lost by a whisker in the last state polls could be considered too. Losing twice or thrice shouldn’t be a reason to be left out.
Whatever it is, in the event the hopefuls are left out, they should be magnanimous and support the party – and back GPS to win all the 31 seats.
Nothing is impossible. And I end with a quote from author Andre Gide: “There are many things that seem impossible only so long as one does not attempt them.”
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
