PRESS STATEMENT BY TAN SRI PETER CHIN FAH KUI, PRESIDENT OF SUPP ISSUED AT MIRI ON 20th JANUARY, 2014 Yesterday (19th January, 2014) I had the opportunity to meet with some SUPP leaders and members from Miri, Batu Niah and Sibuti as part of my planned visits to various Branches throughout the State as President of the Party. It is my duty as President of the Party to meet with Branch leaders and members to explain to them on the status of the Party as a whole but in particular as to what the Party Central leadership is presently doing with regards to the recent letters that had been issued by the Registrar of Societies, Kuala Lumpur to the SUPP Bekenu Branch, the SUPP Piasau Branch and the SUPP Party Central. As a result of these letters from the Registrar of Societies, Kuala Lumpur, members of Party throughout the State and elsewhere are keen to know what is the impact to the Party, in particular, the status of membership of Bekenu Branch and Piasau Branch. Members are confused by the various statements and comments that were published in the newspapers and attributed to some leaders and members at grassroot level of the Party. Some of these negative comments are bad for the morale of members of the Party if no efforts are made to clarify the facts and truths from the lies and mirth. Thus Party Central leaders have been tasked to meet as many grassroot leaders and members as possible to explain the real status of the Party and to appeal for calm and patience while the Central leadership goes about to attend to the processes that needed to be followed through as provided by the provisions of the Societies Act. As for today I am been invited to have breakfast with some Party members in a coffee shop at Batu Niah so I went to meet them. We had a sumptuous breakfast talking about the time when I was the Member of Parliament for the area from 1986 to 2008. Of course, we also spoke about the predicament that these members are now facing as a result of the letter of the Registrar of Societies dated 6th January, 2014. They wanted assurance from me that Party Central is taking all necessary steps to appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs to reverse the decision of the Registrar of Societies to cancel the registration of the SUPP Bekenu Branch. Later in the day, I visited Sibuti at the invitation of some members of the Party to have lunch at a local restaurant. We had a good lunch enjoying the local speciality bututu fish. We also talked about old times when I visited the town during weekends during my rounds as MP for the area. Members of the Party were also concerned about the action of the Registrar of Societies, Kuala Lumpur in cancelling the registration of the SUPP Bekenu Branch and wanted Party Central to appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs to reverse the decision as soon as possible. All in all those members that I have met today are very concerned about the Partys future and strongly supported the efforts of Party Central leaders to revive the fortunes of the Party in all aspects and they wanted to see the Party be ready to defend all those State constituency seats that have been allocated to the SUPP by the BN during the 2011 State Elections. On specific issues/matters that have become subjects for debates either in the printed media or the social media such as Facebook, I wish to state the following as being the Partys official stance, namely: a) On Membership of the Party Members who are attached to the former SUPP Bekenu Branch and the former SUPP Piasau Branch are still legal members of the Sarawak United People Party which is still existing and its registration has not been cancelled by the Registrar of Societies. In this respect Section 7 and 8 of the Partys Constitution and the specific section of the Societies Act 1966 are relevant and should logically and legally apply to all branches throughout the State as well. I do not wish to conduct a debate on this matter with anyone who holds a contrary opinion. Suffice to say that the Central leadership had consulted legal counsel on this matter and we will not change our stance unless otherwise directed by the proper authorities; b) On whether I am still the President of the Party I was properly elected on 11th December, 2011 during the last Triennial Delegates Conference (TDC) by the duly elected Central Committee (CC) members to hold office for a term until the next TDC which is scheduled for this year. Until otherwise decided by the TDC or the CC, I do consider myself as fit and proper to remain as President of the Party. As there is no directive from the Registrar of Societies to relinquish my post as Party President, I do not wish to debate on this matter; and c) On whether I have lost my status as a delegate/member of the Central Committee (CC) The provisions of the Partys Constitution is clear as provided in Section 18 thereof. My status as a delegate/member of the CC is by virtue of sub-section (1)(i) of Section 18; therefore, despite the decision of the Registrar of Societies to cancell the registration of the SUPP Bekenu Branch as stated in their letter dated 6th January, 2014, I have not lost my status and, to my mind, perfectly entitled to carry out my duties as entrusted to me by the CC and the TDC that was held in 2011. Again I wish to state that there has been no directive from the relevant authorities on this matter.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 08:04:15 +0000
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