Sarawak United People's Party's (Supp) Chan to quit in 2008
Malaysiakini.com
Dec 8, 2006
Tony Thien

Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) chief Dr George Chan today agreed to step down from his party post at the end of his two-year term in 2008.

The agreement was reached at a last-minute compromise between the two rival factions to avert an escalating leadership crisis and a serious split in the party.

Former Supp chief Dr Wong Soon Kai and several senior Chinese community leaders are said to have intervened to get the faction led by Dr Chan and the other faction led by party deputy president Law Hieng Ding to sit down and resolve their differences earlier today.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by the rival factions at party headquarters in Jalan Ong Kee Hui late this afternoon.

The signatories were Law, vice president Robert Lau, secretary-general Sim Kheng Hui, party treasurer David Teng, deputy secretary-general Wong Soon Koh, and organising secretary Peter Chin with Dr Chan as a witness.

In a one-page press statement read out by Dr Chan later, he said that “in the interest of party unity, several Supp senior leaders, with the endorsement from the party president, has resolved the recent party leadership differences with five positive measures”.

He said the party's 110-member central committee (CC) and the special delegates conference (SDC) on Dec 9 and 10 respectively will endorse a motion in expressing full confidence in Dr Chan as president and the current leadership to lead the party until the expiry of the current term of office in 2008.

Dr Chan said he will inform the coming central committee and the special delegates conference that he will hand over the party helm to new leaders upon the expiry of his presidency term at the end of 2008.

“The formation of the new party leadership after 2008 shall be elected by the party delegates at the 2008 triennial delegates conference, and not to be dictated by anyone or otherwise.”

Withdrawal of the defamation suit

The Sarawak deputy chief minister also said that the Sibu, Bengoh and Bintangor branches would withdraw their proposed motions of no-confidence against him.

Leaders of the two factions refused to take any questions.

Dr Chan later told malaysiakini that the agreement was reached during lunch today among several of the senior party leaders, including Law and Chin. He was not present.

He also said the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud was not involved .

“It was all resolved within the party,” he added.

Dr Chan also disclosed that he had agreed to drop the suit against Law for alleged defamation.

The Law-led faction that includes Wong Soon Koh, a senior state minister, had initially wanted Dr Chan to step down as party president with immediate effect after they claimed he had reneged on an agreement to step down from the party post in 2008.

Dr Chan had been reported as denying agreeing to such a thing and said he would fight to defend his party post.

Dr Chan said at the press conference: “No one is the winner or the loser. Only the party wins.”

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