SUPP needs to discuss its coalition with BN: Branch chairman

SIBU: The future and direction of the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), including its coalition with Barisan Nasional (BN), should be discussed at the party's Special Delegates Conference (SDC) following its crushing defeat in the recent 14th General Election (GE14).
Dudong SUPP Branch chairman Wong Ching Yong said the status of the party's president Prof Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, who won the post uncontested in the Annual Delegates Conference last December, should also be discussed and deliberated at the SDC.
According to Wong, the power to call for the conference was stipulated under Article 17 of the SUPP Constitution and Regulation.
"This is a serious matter as it has impact on SUPP's survival. The delegates who are representing the grassroots should be given the opportunity to collectively decide," he told a press conference here today.
Wong said the SDC could be held either by the party's central working committee or through petitions by two branches with a combined membership of 20% of the total number of SUPP members.
The SDC must be held within 40 days after obtaining consent from the committee or petition from the party's branches, he said.
In the GE14, SUPP lost the Stampin, Mas Gading, Sarikei, Lanang and Bandar Sibu parliamentary seats and only won in the Serian parliamentary constituency. — Bernama