Dr Sim: More Bumiputeras joining SUPP
KUCHING: The number of Bumiputera members in Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) is on the rise, according to party president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian.
Dr Sim, who is Local Government and Housing Minister, said the party is receiving membership applications on a monthly basis and many among these applicants are the Bumiputeras.
“About one-third of our members are Bumiputeras — the number of Bumiputeras in SUPP is increasing,” he told reporters after handing out cheques to representatives of 21 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at SUPP headquarters here yesterday.
Dr Sim said he would reveal the exact number of party members during the SUPP triennial delegates conference (TDC) this Dec 21-22.
“The latest figure will be (mentioned) in my speech. But about six months ago, there were over 110,000 members. Of this number, about 33,000 are Bumiputeras. But our membership changes every month due to new applications.”
Dr Sim admitted that “a lot of (SUPP) members are quite old also” while many members have passed away.
He said SUPP had to liaise with the National Registration Department (NRD) to get the latest status of its members so as to keep the party’s membership database up to date.
Earlier at the cheque presentation, Dr Sim said he had given out government grants to at
About one-third of our members are Bumiputeras — the number of Bumiputeras in SUPP is increasing. — Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, SUPP president
least 1,800 NGOs to date.
He presented cheques to representatives of SK Stapok parent-teacher association (PTA), Sungai Maong Methodist Church and SJK Chung Hua Stapok.
Other recipients included Batu Kawa Buddhist Tze Yein Sungai Moyan Association, SMK Batu Kawa Alumni Association, Sarawak Chawan Association Youth Section, St Faith’s Church, Kuching Maitreya Association, Kuching Dharma San Seng Tong Association and Mental Health Association of Sarawak.