State government to continue fighting for Sarawak’s rights, says SUPP chief

KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party ( SUPP) president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian believes that the mission of Barisan Nasional ( BN) -led government in protecting Sarawak’s rights remains as critical as it ever was, despite being in the opposition.

“West Malaysian parties are now representing us in Parliament. We must be the guardians and champions for the Sarawak people, less we fall back to the times of the 1980s and 1990s where we saw erosion of rights to which, until today, we are still in the process of recovering.

“So let us renew our commitment and focus to our mission in the coming weeks and months; so that we may be the ears and eyes of Sarawak as we navigate into the next chapter of history of Sarawak in Malaysia,” he wrote in a posting on his Facebook yesterday.

Dr Sim also said if one were to look at SUPP’s history, it was not the first time that the party had been in the opposition.

He said the last time SUPP was an opposition party, it ‘preceded a great success’ in the following election.

“What remains true is this – we have always believed that it is Sarawak for Sarawakians; that we will continue to uphold Sarawak rights for our fellow Sarawakians,” he said.

Dr Sim, who is the state’s Local Government and Housing Minister, also viewed the results of the just- concluded 14th general election (GE14) as the inevitable part of a functioning democracy ‘where sometimes we win and sometimes we lose’.

SUPP won only one of the seven seats it contested under BN ticket in GE14.

The Facebook posting showed Dr Sim busy with paperwork at the SUPP headquarters in Kuching during lunch break, following a hectic morning at the Ministry of Local Government and Housing’s office.