Supp chief to quit in 2008?
Malaysiakini
Nov 10, 2006
Tony Thien

Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) president Dr George Chan, 70, who has been leading the Chinese-based party since 1997, is to step down from the post when his present term ends in 2008.

This is believed to have been the consensus reached among top leaders in the party, following a three-hour 26-member central working committee (CWC) meeting at the party headquarters in Kuching last night.

A CWC member, who has been a vocal critic of the president's policies, spoke to malaysiakini on condition of anonymity that the party's roadshow to explain recent developments in the troubled Supp would be halted.

So far, party leaders had already met with branches in the northern region, including Miri and Bintulu.

Hostility in Bintulu

But according to a local newspaper editor who contacted the Supp chief last night after the meeting, the roadshow had merely been re-scheduled and it would continue after the state assembly sitting ends on Nov 28.

The CWC has yet to cover the central (Sibu) and southern region (Kuching) as well as the outlying areas.

Earlier this week, CWC members, including Chan and his strongest critic, deputy president Law Hieng Ding, as well as another of the president's critics, Youth chief Alan Sim, met with branch leaders in the Miri and Bintulu region.

“The 'reception' for the party president in Bintulu was not quite what he had expected,” a source told malaysiakini.

Chan, who is one of the state's two deputy chief ministers, as well as one of his strongest supporters, party treasurer David Teng, were said to have been booed at the Bintulu meeting.

The party president might find greater hostility in the central region area, especially in Sibu, Meradong and Mukah, and his supporters had been advised against continuing with the roadshow there, the source added.

Chan would, however, find the reception in Kuching much better where he could count on quite a lot of support if the faction led by former federal minister Law was to proceed with its no-confidence motion against the party president at next month's 110-member central committee (CC) meeting or the special delegates conference (SDC) the following day.

Forward committee

Chan told reporters at a brief press conference after the CWC meeting last night that the party had unanimously agreed to set up a 15-member‘forward committee’ with himself as chairperson and the party's deputy secretary-general and state minister, Wong Soon Koh, as deputy chairperson.

Among the committee members are Law and Alan Sim.

Chan did not elaborate on the newly-established body other than to say that the committee would be plotting the future of the party in facing new challenges.

According to Supp secretary-general Sim Kheng Hui, the reason why Wong had been picked as the committee's deputy chairperson instead of deputy leader Law was because (Wong) and Chan were both full state ministers.

But to political analysts, the announcement of the so-called forward team was the first clearest indication that Wong is being groomed to take over from Chan as party leader.

Sources also told malaysiakini that a consensus had already been reached on the timetable for the Chan to step down as president, and this will be in 2008 when his present term ends.

Law, when contacted later by phone in Kuala Lumpur where he was attending a meeting, told malaysiakini that one of the conditions he had put forward for a compromise to avoid a no-confidence motion against the party president is that Chan should set a timetable for stepping down.

“And as long as the CWC agree with the timing of the timetable, it is okay with me,” he said. Law has said if Chan resigns he too will voluntarily step down by 2008 or even earlier.

Problems not over

But problems for Chan may be far from over because his leadership could still come under intense criticism from delegates at the special party delegates conference on Dec 10.

The CWC last night agreed that one of the issues that will be discussed and debated is the loss of the Kuching City South mayor post recently when the state government ignored the party's candidate and instead appointed a civil servant to the post.

The issue of the loss of the Sibu Urban District Council (SUDC) chairmanship post is also expected to be raised.

The party has included a ‘way forward plan’ in the agenda and 'anything under the sun can be raised during the special delegates conference.'

Youth chief Sim told malaysiakini that such issues as the land lease renewal, native customary rights (NCR) land and Chinese vernacular education would be brought up and debated.

Political analysts said the danger for the top leadership is that those delegates already angry with the way Chan has been running the party - which resulted in the lost of eight of 19 seats the party contested in the May 20 state elections - could open up a Pandora’s box.

“There could be pressure for Chan to relinquish his position even before 2008 if there is a lack of control (over the delegates),” the sources added.