CM’s choice brings little cheer to SUPP and UPP
KUCHING: The announcement of the 10 SUPP candidates yesterday seems to have brought little joy to both the Barisan Nasional component party and its breakaway, UPP.
SUPP president Senator Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian has taken the highly soughtafter Batu Kawah seat, which the DAP won by only 543 votes in the 2011 state election.
UPP wanted the seat and had recommended Liu Thian Leong, who is a senior member of Chinese school boards, to Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.
However, Adenan's announcement yesterday might mean UPP could get a substantial number of the remaining seats, including all those held by its rural incumbents.
Asked whether as the SUPP president, he was happy after the announcements, Dr Sim, showing a very serious face, replied: “You see our faces, you can see whether we are happy or not.”
He declined to comment on how many more seats SUPP might get.
“I don't know... (The number of ) our seats was 19.”
Meanwhile, UPP president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said he understood why Batu Kawah was given to SUPP.
“It must have been difficult for the Chief Minister. If the SUPP president wanted it, probably Adenan had not much choice,” Wong said over the phone.
UPP would only help SUPP if it asked, Wong said. “As you know, they have been hostile to us. If Dr Sim wants our help, we'll offer.”
Wong, who is Sarawak's Second Finance Minister, was confident UPP would get the rest of the seats, noting that Adenan had already confirmed UPP's deputy president Datuk Dr Jerip Susil for Mambong.
UPP's Batu Kawah candidate Liu told The Star he was “disappointed”.
“I anticipated the news. I know my rival is a senator, who is also the party president, so it is to be expected,” he said, adding that he had worked hard in the Batu Kawah area as UPP's branch chief since the party’s inception two years ago.
On whether he has ruled out contesting, Liu replied: “I have not. One is that we have to respect the CM. At the same time, we have to consider the sentiment of many people.”
You see our faces, you can see whether we are happy or not.
Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian