After suffering a political whitewash in 2011, SUPP on the road of discovery

All indications are that Sarawak’s oldest political party, Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), is showing signs of recovering from its 2011 political setback at the hands of the Opposition parties.

There are reasons to believe that those supporters who deserted the party in 2011 are slowly, but surely making a comeback. We do not know, for sure, the percentage of them returning, but at party’s political rallies held thus far in Kuching, large crowds turned up.

Of course, it is not an indication that the party is assured of winning the five seats it lost in 2011. But it is a positive indication that SUPP is on the road of recovery.

SUPP is contesting in Padungan (Peter Pau), Pending (Milton Foo), Batu Kawah (Dr. Sim Kui Hian), Kota Sentosa (Wilfred Yap), Batu Lintang (Sih Hua Tong) and the new seat of Batu Kitang (Lo Khere Chiang).

In the 2011 election, the party was almost wiped out, losing 13 out of the 19 seats it was contesting throughout Sarawak. In Kuching alone, it lost all the five to the opposition.

So, it was a worst defeat for the party in its 57-year history.

On the other side of the political divide, crowds attending the main opposition DAP’s political rallies are getting smaller, unlike in 2011, where huge crowds, at times by the thousands, turned up.

From the feedback that I have received and from the few that I have attended, the crowds at the DAP’s rallies were smaller than the ones held by SUPP. Again, it is not an indication that the opposition party will lose in those five seats it is contesting.

I am referring to Pending (Violet Yong), Padungan (Wong King Wei), Batu Kawah (Christina Chiew Wang See),  Kota Sentosa (Chong Chieng Jen) and Batu Kitang (Aziz Isa).

By David Isaiah -SarawakVoice

May 1, 2016