Adenan confirms 10 seats for SUPP candidates

KUCHING: Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem (pic) has announced 10 candidates from SUPP for the coming state election, including its president Senator Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, who will stand in Batu Kawah.

However, the list did not include candidates for the disputed seats between SUPP and its breakaway party UPP. In the last elections when SUPP was intact it contested 19 seats.

The 10 candidates are Peter Pau (for Padungan), Milton Foo (Pending), Sih Hua Tong (Batu Lintang) and Wilfred Yap (Kota Sentosa). Also named were Padawan Municipal Council chairman Lo Khere Chiang (for Batu Kitang), Dr Sim (Batu Kawah), assistant housing minister Datuk Francis Harden Hollis (Simanggang), Chieng Buong Toon (for Bukit Assek), Datuk Sebastian Ting (Piasau) and assistant sports minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin (Senadin).

Padawan Municipal Council chairman Lo Khere Chiang (for Batu Kitang)

Adenan also did not make any announcement at the press conference on the seat tussle between SPDP and its breakaway party Teras.
"I go party by party. It was PRS the other day. Today is SUPP's turn but it's not a complete (list)," Adenan told a packed press conference at his office here.

The Chief Minister said a consensus between SUPP-UPP has not been reached and confirmation of all candidates would be made "one week before nomination day, whenever that is".

"You can presume anything you want. But (final decision) not until the day I announce it."

Present at the brief press conference were most of SUPP confirmed candidates.

Dr Sim did not speak.

UPP president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, who is vying to defend Bawang Assan, a relatively mixed race seat in Sibu, has not responded to the latest development.

In UPP's list, all incumbents including Datuk Dr Jerip Susil (Mambong), Ranum Mina (Opar) and Johnical Rayong Ngipa (Engkilili) were proposed to the Chief Minister.

Adenan did not mention these seats during the press conference.

The tussle between SUPP-UPP and SPDP-Teras dated back almost a decade ago.

For SUPP, the infighting emerged after the 2006 state election and came to a boil after 2014's disputed party polls.

After the split, SUPP was left with two state assemblymen and one MP.

The SPDP-Teras infighting worsened when the then president Tan Sri William Mawan tried to bring back sacked members (including the current crop of incumbents) into SPDP but was met with resistance from his deputy Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

After Mawan left to form Teras, Tiong became SPDP president. SPDP has no state assemblyman but has three MPs.

In the 2011 state election, SUPP contested 19 seats, losing almost all urban seats to DAP. SPDP contested eight, losing two seats to PKR.

SUPP is the oldest surviving political party in Sarawak, founded in 1959, and was initially in the Opposition until it joined the Alliance (later becoming Barisan Nasional) in 1970.

SPDP was formed in 2002, following the de-registration of the Sarawak National Party.

Adenan has repeatedly said there would only be one Barisan candidate for each of the 82 seats for the coming polls, in an attempt to starve off the possibly of multi-corner fights involving Barisan and pro-Barisan candidates.

He has taken to calling approved candidates "Team Adenan".

TheStar
Wednesday, 6 April 2016